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PHE VOICE 



Ghislani Durant. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

©(jail ::■■*.--. 

UNITED STAT] AMERICA 



HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 



RESEARCHES ON THE PHYSIOLOGY 



NERVOUS GANGLIONIC SYSTEM, 

AND THEIR 

APPLICATION TO PATHOLOGY. 



HORSEBACK RIDING, 

From a Medical Point of View. 



SEA-BATHING : 

ITS USE AND ABUSE. 



On the Cause, Prevention, and Cure 

OF 

TUBERCULOUS PHTHISIS, 

BEING THE ESSAY TO WHICH THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 
AWARDED THE " HIRAM CORLISS" PRIZE. 



ON CONSUMPTION, 

TO WHICH ESSAY WAS AWARDED THE GOLD MEDAL OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF THE 
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK. 



WILL APPEAR SHORTLY: 

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS ON BRIGHT'S DISEASE. 



HYGIENE 



The Yoice 



ITS PHYSIOLOGY AND ANATOMY. 



GHISLANI DURANT, M.D., Ph.D., 

OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL 
SOCIETY OF THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK, FELLOW OF THE 
NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE, ETC. 



% Neto anb ttcmscb (Edition. 



/^fS OF u. . 

/o.JAQ.kJsJ, 

\ 



NEW YORK: 
CASSELL, PETTER, GALPIN & COMPANY, 

1879. 



2 hi 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1ST9, by 

GHISLAXI DTJEANT. 

In the Office of the Librarian 01 Congress, at Washington, 



Trout's 

Printing and Bookbinding Co., 

205-213 East \2tli St., 

NEW YORK. 



PEEFACE. 



A new edition of this work having been demanded, I 
have endeavored to render it still more worthy of the 
great encouragement hitherto bestowed npon it by the 
musical world and the public generally. 

The general plan remains unaltered, but all the chapters 
have been carefully revised and considerable additions 
have been made to several of them. As the condition of 
the voice is in a great measure dependent on the state of 
the system, and therefore attention to the general health 
must of necessity exert a beneficial influence upon the 
voice, I have made the chapter on Hygiene more complete 
than it was. I trust that the final chapter, containing as 
it does a description of the diseases most commonly affect- 
ing those who make use of then- vocal organs, will be found 
useful. 



VI PREFACE. 

As I said in the former edition, this work is not intended 
as a manual for singing ; it makes no claim whatever to 
anything beyond what its title imports. In it I have 
sought to convey such a knowledge of the construction 
and mechanism of the vocal apparatus as will enable the 
singer to know what he is making use of, so that he will 
only ask of each peculiar part that which it can perform, 
and not task it beyond its power. For this reason, I have 
entered minutely into a great number of general considera- 
tions, both theoretical and practical, concerning the vocal 
organs. 

A work of this kind is necessarily made up of two 
orders of elements. The first comprises the results of my 
own experience as a singer and as a physician ; the second 
is made up of the communications, experiments and con- 
clusions of others, verified by personal observation, and 
may be found at length in the various works, the names of 
which I have given farther on. 

GHISLANI DURANT. 
New York, 1879. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Sound. Pitch, Intensity, Quality, .... 9 



CHAPTER II. 

Theories of the Formation of the Voice, . „ 20 

CHAPTER III. 

Anatomy of the Vocal Apparatus, .... 28 

CHAPTER IV. 
Formation of the Voice, 48 

CHAPTER V. 
Registers of the Voice, 66 

CHAPTER VI. 
Timbre of the Voice, 72 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER VII. 
Physiognomy of the Voice, 89 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Respiration, 94 

CHAPTER IX. 
Alimentation, 105 

CHAPTER X. 
Sleep, 119 

CHAPTER XL 
Preservation of the Voice, 125 

CHAPTER XII. 
Diseases of the Voice, 151 

APPENDIX, 181 

Prescriptions, 185 



HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 



CHAPTER I. 

SOUND. 
PITCH INTENSITY QUALITY. 

The natural phenomena which are incessantly 
developing themselves on our earth and in the vast 
space around us, offer to our view so magnificent a 
spectacle, that the curiosity of the most listless 
observer becomes powerfully aroused, and in spite 
of himself he is compelled, in a greater or less de- 
gree, to meditate upon the causes capable of pro- 
ducing such marvellous effects. 

Ever since scientific men began to attempt the 
explanation of these natural phenomena, they have 
observed and collected a great number of facts, 
quite distinct from each other, which they have 
classified under such different heads as Light, Heat, 
Electricity, Sound, etc. We can easily distinguish 
these phenomena from each other, but when we 
attempt their explanation, to discover the causes 
1* 



10 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

which produce them, we are as much in the dark as 
we are in regard to the soul, or the vital principle. 

The human mind, always prone to generalize 
and to consider unity of means as perfection, went 
so far as to assign to heat, light, electricity, and 
sound — and with great probability of correctness 
— a common principle : vibratory movements or 
waves acting upon different organs ; and asserted 
that the different sensations arose from peculiar 
conditions of relative motion among the elements 
of which our physical organizations are composed, 
the conditions of motion being determined by the 
internal state of the bodies with which we are in 
contact. May it not be true that the light which 
strikes the eye produces its impression upon the 
retina as heat, and that the sounds which strike the 
ear produce their imj^ression upon the nerves of 
hearing as motion ? It is the same cause which 
produces these effects, whether it is propagated 
through an imponderable fluid as the ether, or 
through the air, that is to say, by vibration. 

Indeed, we may go farther still, and say that, 
since matter manifests itself to us by all these dif- 
ferent phenomena, which are after all but vibratory 
movements of the molecules of the body, trans- 
mitted to us as waves, it results of necessity that 
vibratory motion is an inherent quality of bodies. 

For the mind which sees beyond external ap- 



SOUND. 1 1 

pearances, matter, from the very fact that we per- 
ceive it in some way, is always in motion. If a 
light is removed from onr eye, so that we see it 
no longer, shall we say that the vibrations of the 
ethereal medium have ceased ? If a sound de- 
scends from a tone excessively high to one so low 
that we are no longer able to bear it, are we jus- 
tified in affirming that the sonorous body, or that 
the air, has ceased to vibrate \ Evidently not. 
Reason tells us, on the contrary, that the rest is 
relative only and not absolute, and that the body 
still vibrates, but that on account of the imperfec- 
tion of our ear, we are only enabled to perceive 
those sounds whose vibrations have a certain in- 
tensity and rapidity, and that vibration may still 
exist in a sonorous body, although unable to pro- 
duce an impression on the ear. 

If, therefore, every thing is in motion, every 
thing vibrates, every thing resounds, there is only 
required a medium subtle enough to transmit, and 
an organ delicate enough to perceive, these vibra- 
tions in order that we might live in the midst of 
sounds, as we do in the midst of light. 

Between light and sound, the analogy has often 
been made, and this in all ages has given birth to 
thousands of comparisons between musical tones 
and colors : between music and painting. That 
this analogy exists, is indisputable ; but we must 



12 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

be on our guard lest we carry it farther than the 
nature of the case will allow. It is true that it 
may serve as a source of metaphor, but we must 
not claim for it any scientific value whatever. If, 
since the varying rapidity of vibration produces 
the different colors as well as tones, in considering 
the resemblance between music and painting, we 
should find that the number of vibrations corre- 
sponding to the red of the chromatic scale bear 
the same relation to the number corresponding to 
C of the acoustic scale as that for the orange does 
to that for D, or that for the yellow does to that 
for E, or even that the proportion should hold 
good throughout both the chromatic and acoustic 
gamuts, nevertheless, we should not be justified in 
asserting, from this resemblance, that a complete 
identity had been established ; and imagine that a 
harpsichord of colors might be constructed on which 
we would be able to play tunes with the eyes. 

When we hear a musical scale executed, we need 
but to listen to a few notes to perceive a difference 
in the pitch or note of the sounds. 

This is not the only difference we notice : we 
know that two sounds alike as to their note may 
differ as to their volume, or the more or less de- 
cided impression they make upon the tympanum. 
We have, therefore, another characteristic differ- 
ence besides the pitch — the intensity or loudness. 



SOUND. 13 

But is this all? Can we not distinguish the dif- 
ference between the sound of a fresh, girlish voice, 
and the rough, worn-out voice of a street-singer ? 
Or, to use the words of Laugel, " I wish to know 
why the sighs of the hautboy differ from the 
twang of the violin, from the blare of the trum- 
pet, from the subdued sounds of the horn, from 
the soft nasillements of the bassoon; to under- 
stand why the varied stops of the organ differ; 
why its harmonies float froni thunder-peals to 
sounds so sweet that they seem the flappings of 
seraphic wings ; why its breath now thrills me 
through, and now caresses me as with invisible 
kisses ? " There exists, then, a third character, or 
distinction of sounds, a character more definite, 
more decided than the other two, which may be 
called its physiognomy, its color, its perfume, and 
which the reader has already recognized as the 
timbre or quality. We have now all the character- 
istic differences between sounds ; two notes of the 
same. pitch, of the same intensity, and of the same 
timbre are completely identical. 

PITCH. 

The pitch, or note of a sound, whether it be 
acute or grave, depends upon the number of vibra- 
tions of the sonorous body in a given period of 



14 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

time, as, for example, during a second. The high- 
est or most acute sound would be the one produced 
by the greatest number of vibrations of which the 
ear could take cognizance, and consequently of the 
most rapid motion of the auditory nerves possible, 
while, on the other hand, the lowest or gravest note 
would be produced by the least number of vibra- 
tions ca]3able of producing an effect upon the ear. 
But, as we have already said, the sensibility of 
the nervous apparatus is limited. The number of 
vibrations must be comprised between given limits, 
in order that the sound jxroduced shall be audible : 
should the number of vibrations be too great or 
too small, the resulting sounds would escape us. 
It has been found by exjDerinients that the deepest 
or gravest sound audible to the human ear must 
be produced by at least from 7 to 15 vibrations 
per second, and that the sound becomes distinctly 
audible only when the number becomes some 64. 
On the other hand, the greatest number of vibra- 
tions producing the highest or most acute sound 
audible to our ear, cannot be greater than 30,000, 
and this number makes a very disagreeable impres- 
sion upon the ear.* 



* According to Weber, musicians who possess an extremely accurate 
and well-trained ear, are able to perceive a difference of pitch when the 
ratio of the vibrations is 1,000 to 1,001. The difference would be about 
- 6 ^f of a semitone. 



SOUND. 15 

We will not speak of sounds produced by some 
65,000 vibrations in a second, for besides the diffi- 
culty of obtaining them, they are imperceptible to 
almost all human ears, though they are distinctly 
perceptible to certain animals, differently organ- 
ized from us, cats for example. 

But this is not all. Besides these sounds which 
escape the ear on account of the small or of the 
great number of the vibrations by which they are 
produced, that is to say, those which are too grave 
or too acute, we observe also that this same imper- 
fection of the organ of hearing does not allow it 
to distinguish between two sounds which differ 
only by a small number of vibrations — although 
in reality one may be more acute than the other — 
so, if a cord is set vibrating, and then, by the ap- 
plication of a continued and gradually increasing 
force, the tension of the cord is augmented, the 
cord vibrates more and more rapidly, and the pitch 
of the sounds is increased, but by degrees which 
are inappreciable to the human ear, as may be 
easily demonstrated by experiment. But between 
the starting-point, which we will suppose to have 
been a cord stretched by its own weight, and the 
extreme point of tension, where the cohesive force 
of the particles of which the cord is composed, is 
just sufficient to overcome the efforts of the ten- 
sile force to produce rupture, many sounds differ- 



16 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

ing in pitch have been produced, and while the ear 
has not been able to distinguish one from the other, 
so insensible has the gradation been; just as in the 
spectrum of the prism the eye is not able to distin- 
guish the precise point where one color begins and 
another ends, It has been found necessary, there- 
fore, to establish a line of decided demarcation be- 
tween sounds, neglecting those which serve as tran- 
sitions, and keeping those only which, possessing 
the most definite qualities, produce, consequently, 
the most distinct and agreeable impressions. 

The arbitrary scale, or series of notes produced 
in this way, is called the gamut. The gamut is, 
then, nothing but a choice of certain intervals, and 
the particular name given to each step of the lad- 
der indicates the moment at which a sound differs 
sensibly from another. 

If the sounds of the gamut be made to succeed 
each other, it will be found that they do not all 
produce the same sensation of pleasure ; some fully 
satisfy the ear, by imparting to the sensibility an 
idea of fulness and completeness ; others excite, 
disturb, or cause a desire for a more clear, more 
easy transition, and require, in order that an 
agreeable impression may be produced, to be com- 
pleted by one of the former. It is in that happy 
combination of different intervals, that the charm 
of melody exists. 



SOUND. 17 



INTENSITY. 



The intensity of sound results from the amj)li- 
tude of the vibrations, — in other words, the inten- 
sity is the quantity of strength with which the 
body is set in motion ; and, in order that intensity 
may be appreciated by the ear, it is necessary that 
the vibrations should be transmitted in their vary- 
ing amplitude to the tympanum, so that we 
might define intensity to be the varying degree of 
motion imparted by the vibrations to the nervous 
fasciculi. A very weak or grave sound is power- 
less to stretch the tympanum, or to agitate the 
nerves of the ear ; while a very violent sound — that 
caused by the discharge of a cannon, for example — 
may rupture the tympanum, or produce grave dis- 
orders in the nervous mechanism of the ear. But 
between these two extremes there is room for a 
great variety of agreeable sounds, which music 
can vary ad infinitum, and by means of which it is 
enabled to produce its almost unlimited power 
over its listeners. What is termed expression, if 
we except a few means borrowed from the timbre, 
consists almost exclusively of the shades of inten- 
sity. 

TIMBRE. (Quality.) 

Until now, we have examined only the strength 
and the rapidity of the vibrations, but we have 



18 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

yet to consider their form, and reason tells us that 
here we shall find the explanation of the timbre or 
quality. 

The different molecules of which bodies are 
composed, are not all disposed in the same way : 
when a vibratory motion is induced on the body, 
all the molecules of which it is composed describe 
orbits around their centre of rest, but their orbits 
of motion are differently disposed in reference to 
the direction in which the sound is propagated to 
reach the ear; some orbits having the plane of 
motion in the direction of sound propagation, some 
at various angles ; and these various motions are 
transmitted to the air and thus to the ear. 

And still further, in consequence of that varied 
disposition of the molecules of a body which per- 
mits some of them to vibrate strongly, some 
feebly, whilst others remain almost absolutely at 
rest, it follows that a sound is always, or at least 
very often, mixed with accessory sounds which 
disappear in the principal sound. If the string of 
a violin is forcibly pinched, or set in motion by a 
bow, a delicate ear will detect at the same time, 
and like a slight emanation of the fundamental 
note, the third, the fifth, the octave, etc. 

Habit enables us to isolate these sounds from 
one another. They are the elements out of which 
the science of harmonics is made up. 



SOUND. 19 

A sound, then, taken as a whole, is complex, 
just as white light is, and just as the prism can 
separate sunlight into the primary colors, so a nice 
ear can distinguish, at the same time with the pri- 
mary, the secondary sounds. Hence we have in 
the ear" an infinite number of nervous cords, some 
of which are acted upon violently by the principal 
vibrations and give the chief impression of tone, 
whilst others, agitated more feebly by the secon- 
dary sounds, serve only to modify the principal 
impression ; and it is for this reason that any per- 
son, although he may not have a very delicate ear, 
easily recognizes the timbre. 

We may, then, define the timbre to be the re- 
sult of accessory sounds, harmonic when the sound 
is musical, inharmonic when it is a noise, and say 
that it varies according to their number and pitch. 
Experiment has shown that, when the partial 
sounds change, the timbre also changes, and hence 
the explanation of the timbre : that as we modify 
either the molecular arrangement of the substance, 
or the substance itself which is vibrating, or the 
column of air which forms the conducting medium, 
we modify the orbital motion of the molecules, 
and therefore the accessory sounds ; for the timbre 
is nothing less than the form of the vibration of the 
air, reproducing itself exactly on the nervous mat- 
ter of the ear. (Beauquier.) 



CHAPTER II. 

HISTORIC SUMMARY OF THE THEORIES OF THE FOR- 
MATION OF THE VOICE. 

Though a great number of theories have been 
successively advanced to explain the voice, its 
formation, and the various ]3henomena which it 
presents, yet they may be all classed under three 
principal groups : 1st. Those in which the vocal 
organ is compared to a wind instrument with an 
inflexible mouthpiece, as the flute, flageolet, or the 
organ-pipes ; 2d. Those in which it is compared to 
a wind instrument having a reeded mouthpiece, as 
the clarionet, bassoon, etc. ; and 3d. Where it is 
supposed to resemble a string instrument, or one 
partaking both of the character of a string and 
wind instrument. 

A brief summary of the opinions held by some 
of the most eminent physiologists, of both ancient 
and modern times, will show this statement to be 
correct. 

Hippocrates, 400 B.C., says : " Man speaks by 
the air which he draws in the whole body but 
especially in the cavities. Pushed to the exterior 



HISTOETC SUMMAEY. 21 

by the vacuum, the air engenders a sound, the 
tongue articulates by its clashings, intercepting it 
in the throat, and striking against the palate and 
the teeth, it makes the sound distinct." 

Ninety years later, Aristotle defines the voice to 
be "a certain sound produced by a living body, 
for inanimate things have no voice." He compares 
the organs of the voice to a flute ; the trachea 
being the body of the instrument. 

Plato, 429 b. c, defines the voice to be " a rust- 
ling in the air reaching the soul through the ears." 

Galen, 131 b. c, shows a far more intimate ac- 
quaintance with the structure of the vocal appa- 
ratus, for he states the thorax to be the bellows, 
or reservoir for air ; the vocal cords, the sonorous 
vibrating body, by which the sound is produced, 
and the palate and mouth to correspond to the 
tube of a wind instrument, by which the sounds 
are modified, — the whole apparatus being consid- 
ered by him as analogous to a flute. 

In the 16th century, Jerome Fabricio, speaking 
of the vocal apparatus, says : " The general efficient 
cause of sound is a body capable of condensing, 
compressing, striking the air, and making it break 
forth." His description would make the vocal 
organ similar to an organ-pipe. 

Mersenne, 1588, says: "The faculty or motive 
power of the soul is the principal and first cause 



22 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

of the voice in animals and has its seat in the ten- 
dons." However, Mersenne did not say whether 
he considered the vocal instrument as wind or 
string. 

Claude Perranlt, 17th century, says : u The voice 
is a sound of verberation, which the air enclosed in 
the chest excites in sallying forth violently, and in 
grazing the membranes constituting the glottis, so 
that it shakes its parts, and disseminates its parti- 
cles, the return of which causes an agitation in the 
air, capable of making an impression on the organ 
of hearing." He also classes the vocal organ with 
instruments of the flute kind. 

Dodart, 1700, says: "The voice is a sound — 
sound is an effect of the air beaten violently — the 
matter of the voice is the air contained in the 
lungs, pushed from downward upward, from inside 
outside. The resounding of any sound, and con- 
sequently that of the voice, supposes the voice 
already formed, and is only the continuation of 
the sound. The glottis alone," said he, "forms 
the voice and all its tones." He compares the 
organ of the voice to a horn or trumpet. 

Ferrein, in 1742, was the first who attempted to 
draw sounds from the larynx of the dead. " I ap- 
proximated," said he, " the lips of the glottis, and 
blew with force into the windpipe; upon this the 
organ seemed to take life, and sent forth, I will 



HISTORIC SUMMARY. 23 

not say a sound, but a loud voice, more agreeable 
to me than the most touching music." Ferrein 
considered the larynx as a stringed instrument, and 
compared it to a violin. 

The great naturalist, Cuvier, compared the vocal 
organ to a flute, and looked upon the glottis as the 
mouthpiece of the instrument, the mouth as the 
body or tube, and the nares as the lateral open- 
ings. 

Dutrochet, 1806, held " that the production of 
the voice was an active phenomenon, depending 
upon the vibration of the fibres forming the thyro- 
arytenoidean muscles; and that the vocal tube is 
supposed to have no influence whatever on the 
production of tones." 

Despiney de Bourg, 1822, stated "that the 
sounds formed in the glottis undergo at that aper- 
ture great variations; to reach the outside they 
escape through the pharynx, a muscular canal sus- 
ceptible of experiencing numerous changes, and 
able, besides, to modify these sounds ; that canal 
may be compared by its influence to the gliding 
coulisse of a trombone." 

Felix Savart, 1825, says, that "it is easy to com- 
prehend the formation of the voice if we consider 
the vocal organ, composed of the larynx, the 
pharynx, and the mouth, like a conical tube in 
wh?ch the air is brought by a movement analo- 



24 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

gous to that taking place in the flute-stop of an 
organ. 

Malgaigne, 1831: "The voice is a particular 
sound produced ordinarily by the passage of the 
expired air in the aerial tubes." His experiments 
led him to consider the voice as a reed instrument. 

Richeraud, 1833, declared the voice to be "an 
appreciable sound resulting from the vibrations 
which the air, sent forth by the lungs, experiences 
in passing through the glottis." Richeraucl holds 
a juste milieu among the opinions already given, 
for he considers the vocal organ at the same time 
both as a string and a wind instrument. 

Bennati, 1833, believes "that it is not the mus- 
cles only of the larynx that serve to modulate the 
sounds in singing, but also those of the os hyoicles, 
those of the tongue, and those of the superior, an- 
terior, and posterior parts of the vocal pipe, and 
that without the simultaneous and proportionally 
combined work of these, the degree of modulation 
cannot take place." 

Dr. James Rush, 1833, says: "All we know is, 
that the voice is caused by the passage of air 
through the larynx and cavities of the mouth and 
nose." 

Magendie, 1836 : "We understand by voice the 
sounds produced in the larnyx at the time the air 
passes through that organ, be it to enter the wind- 



HISTORIC SUMMARY. 25 

pipe or to leave it." He makes the vocal organ a 
reed instrument. 

Colunibat, 1838, states : " The voice is an ani- 
mal sound, living and articulate ; of which the air 
is the material cause, and the glottis the efficient 
cause." 

Dr. John W. Draper, 1850, says, that "articu- 
lation is effected by the motions of the tongue and 
other portions of the mouth ; sound is produced 
by the glottis, speech by the mouth." 

Miiller, 1851, states, that "in the formation of 
the voice, the windpipe acts as a wooden pipe of 
like diameter would do." 

Manuel Garcia: "The voice is formed by the 
periodical compressions and dilations which the 
air experiences wheu, on reaching the glottis, the 
latter, by alternate and regular movements, stops 
or permits its exit." 

Dr. John C. Dalton, Jr., 1859: "That when a 
vocal sound is to be produced, the vocal cords are 
suddenly made tense, and applied closely to each 
other so as to diminish very considerably the size 
of the orifice : and the air driven by an unusually 
forcible expiration through the narrow opening of 
the glottis, in passing between the vibrating vocal 
cords, is itself thrown into vibrations, which pro- 
duce the sound required." 

A. Debay, 1861 : " The voice may be defined as 



26 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

the sonorous vibrations which are produced by the 
air, expelled by the lungs through the glottis, and 
escaping through the pharyngo-buccal cavity." 

Dr. Ed. Fournie, 1866 : "The voice is a sound 
produced by a particular reed having walls modi- 
fiable under the influence of muscular action ; the 
vibrating part being furnished by the mucous fold 
which limits the borders of the glottis. The vi- 
brations are occasioned by the passage of the air 
through the glottis." 

Dr. James Yearsley, 1866: a The term applies 
properly to the sounds produced by the action of 
the air on the vocal cords in the larynx." 

L. Mandl, 1872: u The air in passing through 
the glottis is thrown into vibration and a sound 
called the glottic sound is produced ; this, com- 
bined with the sounds produced by the air passing 
through the pharyngeal cavities, — the pharyngeal 
sounds, — constitutes what is generally known as 
the voice." 

My ideas regarding the formation of the voice 
do not differ materially from those given above. 
The vocal ligaments in a state of rest, are not 
brought into close juxtaposition, but for the ut- 
terance of sound, they are approximated by mus- 
cular' action, dependent upon volition, and the 
vocal ligaments act in the same manner as two 
membranous lips, which, as the air is forced up 



HISTORIC SUMMARY. 27 

by the expiratory effort, are thrown into vibra- 
tion, and thus produce the voice. This phenome- 
non requires the concourse of a great number of 
organs ; the walls of the thorax, the lungs, the 
larynx and trachea, the mouth and nasal fossae. 
However, the larynx alone essentially belongs to 
the voice. 

Let us now pass from the summary of the vari- 
ous opinions held, concerning the mode of pro- 
duction of the vocal sounds, to the consideration 
of the anatomy of the individual parts, in order 
that we may understand clearly and appreciate 
fully the wonderful delicacy, simplicity, and beau- 
ty of the mechanism, which is one, if not the prin- 
cipal, means of communication between man and 
man, and which therefore affects not only his 
physical, but also his mental condition. 



CHAPTER III. 

ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL APPARATUS. 

The organs concerned in the production of vo- 
cal sounds are composed of three separate and dis- 
tinct portions, 

1st. The lungs (analogous to the bellows of an 
organ), and trachea, which furnish and convey the 
air necessary to produce the vibrations. 

2d. The larynx, containing in its interior the 
vocal cords. 

3d. The pharynx, mouth, and nasal anfractuosi- 
ties, which serve to modify the sounds produced in 
the larynx. 

I. THE LUNGS AND TRACHEA. 

The lungs, the organs of respiration proper, are 
tivo in number, situated side by side in the thora- 
cic cavity, surrounding the heart and occupying 
almost all the chest, except a very small space to 
the left of the median line where the heart may 
be felt to beat against the wall of the chest. They 
are separated from the abdominal cavity by the 



ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL APPARATUS. 



29 




i fM W 



A The Tongue. 

B The Cavity of the Month. 

C The Uvula and Soft Palate. 

D The Nasal Fossae. 

E The Passage communicating with the 

Nose. 

F The Pharyngeal Cavity. 

G The Epiglottis. 



IT The Rima Glottis, or Opening of the 

Lai-ynx. 

/ The Vocal Ligaments, or Corde Vocali. 

K The Larynx. 

L The Trachea, or Windpipe. 

M The Bronchial Tubes. 

N The (Esophagus. 

P The Spinal Vertebrae. 



30 



HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 
Fig. 2. 




HUMAN AIR-TUBES. 

The mode of distribution of the air-tubes is represented in Fig. 2 (Draper's) : a is the 
larynx ; b b, the trachea, the upper letter corresponding to the cricoid cartilage ; c, the 
left bronchus ; d, the right bronchus ; e, /, g, its ramifications in the right lung, j j ; 
h, i, ramifications of the left bronchus in the left lung, k K 




DISTBIBUTION OF CAPILLARIES ON AIR-CELLS OF THE LUNGS. 



ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL APPARATUS. 31 

diaphragm, a sort of muscular membranous parti- 
tion ; their size varies with the capacity and con- 
dition of the chest, the age and sex of the individ- 
ual, the state of the health, and their condition at 
the time, whether of expiration or inspiration. 
They are conical in shape, the apex of the cone 
being directed upward ; the right lung being 
shorter, but larger than the left, whose transverse 
diameter is somewhat shortened by the position of 
the heart. Their color is a light pinkish tint 
speckled with black. 

The lungs are spongy in structure, and consist 
of air-vessels, air-cells or vesicles, nerves and blood- 
vessels, held together by the ordinary packing 
material of the body, cellular tissue, and are cov- 
ered by the pleura, a shining membrane which is 
kept constantly lubricated so that they may move 
without friction or injury ; the spongy character 
of the lungs is due to the air-vesicles. 

If we examine the respiratory organs of any 
animal, the lights as they are commonly called, 
we find that the trachea divides into the bronchi, 
and these again divide and subdivide, diminishing 
in size till they become mere capillaries, losing 
their cylindrical shapes from the great number of 
air-vesicles (about y^- of an inch in diameter), 
which open upon their sides, and finally terminate 
in one of these vesicles. A certain number of 



32 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

vesicles communicate directly with each other, and 
with a single branch of the bronchial tube, and 
are separated from neighboring air-cells by parti- 
tions of cellular tissue — parenchyma— and thus are 
formed the lobules of the lungs. We may, there- 
fore, consider the lung as nothing more nor less than 
a collection of these lobules packed in cellular 
tissue, held together by the ramifications of the 
bronchi, which open in the midst of them, and thus 
put them into communication with the external 
air, through the air-passages consisting of the 
trachea or windpipe, the bronchi, and their divi- 
sion. 

If by careful dissection a lung be freed from 
nervous, vascular, and cellular tissue, the bronchi 
and their ramifications, which will then alone re- 
main, will be found to bear a very close resem- 
blance to a tree with its branches. 

Cruveilhier remarks that the size of the lungs, 
corresponding exactly with the capacity of the 
thorax, is therefore, like it, subject to variations ; 
and as, on the one hand, the size of the lung is 
generally a measure of the energy of respiration, 
and, on the other, the energy of the respiration is 
a measure of the muscular strength, it follows, 
that a capacious chest, coinciding with broad 
shoulders, is the characteristic of a sanguine tem- 
perament and athletic constitution. 



ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL APPARATUS. 33 

The trachea or 'windpipe, which carries the air 
to and from the lungs, is a cylindrical tube four 
or five inches in length, situated in front of the 
oesophagus or gullet — which carries food to the 
stomach, — extending from the larynx above to the 
third dorsal vertebra below, where it divides into 
two tubes, called the right and the left bronchus, 
which go to the corresponding lung ; then the 
bronchi continue to subdivide until they become 
capillaries. The windpipe is formed of from six- 
teen to twenty cartilaginous rings, connected by 
ligamentous tissue of an elastic character ; these 
rings are about two lines in breadth, and form the 
anterior two-thirds of the tube, but are deficient 
in the posterior third, which is completed by a 
muscular structure, whose fibres are placed trans- 
versely and which possess much elasticity, to allow 
for the distention of the oesophagus while the food 
is on its way to the stomach. The object of the 
rings is to prevent the falling in of the walls of 
the trachea during inspiration, and so to allow of 
the free access of air. The first ring is the 
largest, and the last is of such a shape as to be 
adapted to the first rings of the bronchi. 

The bronchi are essentially of the same struc- 
ture as the trachea, except that the rings are com- 
plete; the right bronchus is shorter, but of a 
larger diameter than the left ; these soon ramify 



o4 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

into numerous subdivisions which finally termi- 
nate in the lobules of the lungs. 

II. THE LARYNX. 

The larynx, the upper portion of the air-pas- 
sages, is situated at the upper and anterior part 
of the neck, between the base of the tongue and 
the trachea, with which it is continuous below, 
and in front of the membranous canal which con- 
ducts the food to the stomach. 

The larynx is narrow and cylindrical below, but 
larger above, where it presents the form of a tri- 
angular box ; it is formed of cartilages connected 
by ligaments moved by numerous muscles, lined 
by mucous membrane and supplied with nerves 
and blood-vessels. 

The cartilages forming the larynx are nine in 
number, viz. : 

the th} r roid, the epiglottis, 

the cricoid, 2 cornicula laryngis, 

2 arytenoides, 2 cuneiform. 

The thyroid (from Gr. &vptog tiSog, like a shield), 
is the largest of these cartilages and the one form- 
ing the greater portion of the larynx. It consists 
of two quadrilateral plates or lamellae, united in 
the median line in front at an angle of about 70°, 



ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL APPARATUS. 



35 



True vocal cord. 



Arytenoid cartilage. ., 




Thyroid cartilage. 



- Elastic ligament. 

BHAPE OF THE GLOTTIS V7HEN AT REST. — [h. HOLDEN.] 



Arytenoid cartilage.. 
Crico-arytenoid joint- 

Crico-thyroid joint. 




Thyroid cartilage. 



Thyroid cartilage depressed. 

True vocal cord. 

True vocal cord stretched. 



Crico-thyroid muscle. 
Cricoid cartilage. 



DIAGRAM SHOWING THE ACTION OF THE CRICO-THYROID MUSCLES. 



ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL APPAKATUS. 37 

forming the pomtmi Ad ami, or Adam's apple. It 
forms the upper and anterior portion of the 
larynx, but is opened behind. 

The cricoid (Gr. xgixog siSog, like a ring), 
shaped like a seal ring, is placed horizontally be- 
low the thyroid, and above the trachea, and has its 
narrow portion in front, the wider behind, and fills 
up the posterior opening of the thyroid ; it forms 
the base of the larynx. Its superior or upper border 
unites by means of a membrane with the inferior 
border of the thyroid and arytenoid cartilages ; infe- 
riorly it corresponds with the first ring of the trachea 
or windpipe, of which it seems a continuation. 

The arytenoides (Gr. aovrcuva u§og y ladle- 
shaped), are two small prismatic or pyramidal- 
shaped cartilages, standing in the open space of 
the thyroid, and upon the posterior portion of the 
cricoid, and united by their anterior borders to the 
posterior border of the preceding, and are there- 
fore in the upper and back portion of the larynx. 
Their base is broad and concave, and articulates 
or unites with the cricoid, and is terminated by 
two apophyses, the posterior or external, and the 
anterior or internal ; to the former are attached 
the lateral and posterior crico-arytenoid muscles, 
while to the latter, and the depression between 
the two alse of the thyroid cartilage, are attached 
the inferior or true vocal cords. 



38 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

The comicula laryngis and the cuneiform car- 
tilages do not need describing in order to under- 
stand the mechanism of the voice. The former 
are cartilaginous nodules situated at the apices of 
the arytenoides ; the latter small elongated bodies 
situated at the side of the arytenoides. 

Finally we have the epiglottis, a thin leaf -shaped 
fibrocartilaginous plate, situated behind the root 
of the tongue, at the superior portion of the 
larynx ; its name might lead us to believe that it 
is situated immediately over the glottis ; but it is 
placed much higher up. Its ordinary position is 
perpendicular, leaving the glottis free for respira- 
tion; but during the elevation of the larynx in 
deglutition it becomes horizontal, falls over the 
glottis, and prevents the entrance of food into the 
larynx. 

In the production of acute sounds, the epiglottis 
concurs in the expulsion of the air by the nasal 
fossae, and thus participates in the vibratory motion 
of the air, and although foreign to the modifica- 
tions of the voice, may contribute to its timbre. 

Suspended as the larynx is to the hyoid bone 
(a horseshoe-shaped bone situated at the base of 
the tongue, with its rounded portion in front), it 
ascends and descends with it, and in order that it 
shall concur in both phonation and deglutition, it 
must execute certain movements as a unit, and to 



40 



HYGIENE OE THE VOICE. 



Fig. 6. 



Vocal cord, 
Thyroid cartilage. 
Cricoid cartilage. . 




Arytenoid cartilage ... 
Elastic ligament (g 
(crico - arytenoid) ■ 



Thyro-arytenoi- 
deus. 



sy^x Crico - arytenoi- 

; 'fe'-C,\ deus lateralis. 



Crico - arytenoi- 
deus posticus. 



GLOTTIS DELATED. MUSCLES DILATING IT KEPEESENTED WAVY. 




Arytenoid carti- 
lage 



Elastic ligami 



Thyro-arytenoideus . 



|j^r- Crico- arytenoideus 
'^V\ lateralis. 



_ Crico - arytenoideus 
posticus. 



GLOTTIS CLOSED. MUSCLES CLOSING IT BEPEESENTED WAVY. 



ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL APPAEATUS. 41 

enable it to do this, the several parts of which it 
is composed are united by means of fibrous and 
membranous ligaments. Thus between the thyroid 
and cricoid we have the crico-thyroid ligament ; 
between the thyroid and arytenoid, the thyroary- 
tenoid ligaments. 

Thus far we have examined the formation, posi- 
tion, and exterior portion of the larynx ; now let 
us examine its interior arrangement and strive to 
learn its functions and their modus operandi. 
First, we have the superior orifice, an oval space 
bounded in front by the epiglottis, behind by the 
arytenoid cartilages, and on the sides by folds of 
the mucous membrane. Below this and toward 
the middle of the larynx, we observe an oblong 
triangular slit between two membranous folds, 
which are stretched horizontally between the re- 
ceding angle of the thyroid and the two internal 
apophyses of the arytenoides; these are the in- 
ferior or true vocal cords ; so called to distin- 
guish them from two other folds of membrane 
placed parallel to and above them, which are 
called the superior or false vocal cords, since 
they do not, as far as has been ascertained, contri- 
bute in any way to the formation of sounds ; on 
either side, between the true and false vocal 
cords, are two oblong fossae called ventricles. 

The glottis, often confounded with the upper 



42 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

opening of the larynx, is the interval or space be- 
tween the vocal cords, and is, therefore, situated 
about the middle of that organ. It is elliptical' 
or linear in shape, according to the moment at 
which it is observed. Its length and width vary 
in different individuals as the corresponding di- 
mensions of the larynx do. They are greater in 
man than in woman. 

There is a regular movement of opening and clo- 
sing of the glottis, which seems to be determined 
by the respiration. It remains open during the 
time the air is entering the lungs, but closes par- 
tially during a part of the time that the air is 
leaving them. Dilatation, however, begins before 
the close of expiration, and proceeding with it, 
leaves the aperture open to its fullest extent, at 
the moment when the following inspiration is to 
begin. 

The two inferior or true vocal cords consist es- 
sentially of the thyro-arytenoid muscles covered 
by strong fibrous bands (inferior thyro-arytenoid 
ligaments) which in turn are covered exteriorly by 
a thin membrane ; they are about two lines in 
width, and from eight lines to an inch in length ; 
they are attached in front to the depression be- 
tween the two alse, or wings of the thyroid; be- 
hind, to the anterior angles of the arytenoides ; 
and at the sides, to the thyroid, by the lateral at- 



ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL APPARATUS. 43 

tachment of the muscles. These ligaments with 
their covering are so attached, both in front, be- 
hind, and on the sides, that we may well assert 
they are incapable of vibrating so as to produce 
vocal sounds ; but this exterior envelope (the vo- 
.cal membrane of Dr. Ed. Fournie), is a very fine, 
transparent, and highly elastic membrane, so ar- 
ranged on the interior border of the vocal cords 
that the slightest breath is sufficient to set it in 
motion. This membrane surrounds the vocal 
cords as a well-fitting glove does the hand, and 
may be readily detached from the interior border 
of the cords, but adheres more closely to their 
body. 

The movements of the cartilages of the larynx 
are performed by means of nine muscles, of which 
eight are in pairs, viz., the crico-thyroidei, the cri- 
co-arytenoidei postici, the crico-arytenoidei latera- 
les, and the thyro-ary tenoidei ; and one single, the 
arytenoideus. 

The crico-thyroid muscles are inserted partly into 
the anterior face of the cricoid, partly into the in- 
ferior border of the thyroid; they approximate the 
anterior portion of these two cartilages more 
closely. By this motion, the thyroid is made to re- 
cede from the arytenoid cartilages, and thus the 
vocal cords are stretched between them. 

The posterior crico-arytenoid muscles extend 



44 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

from the lateral portions of the cricoid to the pos- 
terior apophyses of the base of the arytenoid car- 
tilages. These muscles, when contracted, tend to 
carry the arytenoid cartilages, and the vocal cords 
attached to them, outward toward the cricoid, and 
consequently dilate the glottis. 

The lateral crico-arytenoid muscles extend from 
the lateral portions of the superior borders of the 
cricoid to the posterior apophyses of the arytenoid ; 
by their action they draw together the internal 
apophyses of the arytenoid cartilages, and there- 
fore approximate the true vocal cords, and so nar- 
row the glottis. 

The thyro-arytenoidei arise from the inferior third 
of the receding angle of the thyroid, and are in- 
serted into the internal apophyses of the aryte- 
noid ; their greater fasciculi are lodged in the tex- 
ture of the vocal cord itself ; they elevate the 
front of the thyroid, draw it toward the arytenoid, 
and thus relax the vocal ligaments. 

The arytenoid muscle extends from one to the 
other arytenoid cartilage, being attached to the 
posterior and external portions ; its action is to 
approximate these cartilages, and consequently to 
constrict the glottis. 

Finally, the larynx is supplied with a number 
of small glands, concerning the function of which 
but little is known; their use seems to be to 



ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL APPARATUS. 45 

secrete a mucus, which lubricates the larynx and 
epiglottis, keeps them moist and soft, so that mo- 
tion shall be attended with as little friction as 
possible, and prevents irritation by the constant 
passage of air to and from the lungs during in- 
spiration, expiration, singing, or speech ; they are, 
the epiglottics, the subglottic^, the arytenoid, and 
the ventricular. There are none on the vocal 
cords. The arteries are derived from the laryn- 
geal branch of the superior and inferior thyroid. 
The veins empty into the thyroid veins. The 
nerves are the superior and inferior or recurrent 
laryngeal ; the superior or sensor supplies the 
mucous membrane and crico-thyroicl muscles ; the 
inferior laryngeal, the remaining muscles. The 
arytenoid is supplied by both. 

HI. THE PHARYNX. 

If you inspect some friend's throat, or your 
own, by means of a mirror, you perceive the open- 
ing into the throat — the isthmus of the fauces — 
the posterior wall of which is formed by a con- 
tractile surface, lined with mucous membrane. 
This is \he pharynx — the buccal face of the velum 
palati, or soft palate, which forms an incomplete 
partition between the mouth and the pharynx — 
in the median line a small, pendulous, conical 



46 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

body, the uvula or hanging palate — extending 
from the base of the latter, right and left, two 
folds of membrane forming an arch ; these are 
called the pillars of the soft palate ; they bound 
on either side a small cavity, in which is lodged 
the amy g dale glands or tonsils. 

The other parts which make up the organs of 
sound are the mouth and nasal fossaB. 

The nasal fossw are two irregular-shaped cavi- 
ties separated by a thin partition, situated in the 
middle of the face, and extending backward. 
They open by their anterior orifice upon the face, 
while their posterior opening is on the pharynx ; 
they communicate with four sinuses, or cavities in 
bones, the frontal, sphenoidal, ethmoidal, and max- 
illary — the particular use of which will be ex- 
plained hereafter; they serve to increase the di- 
mensions of the vocal pipe. 

The cheeks, during phonation, are almost pas- 
sive, yet, being under the control of the muscles 
of the mouth, they may dilate or contract the 
buccal cavity, and so increase or diminish the size 
of the vocal organ. 

The mouth plays a very important part in the 
modification of sounds, since it is formed of parts 
extremely mobile, and therefore well suited, by 
the disposition and movements of its parts, for 
forming the particular cavity best suited for the 



ANATOMY OF THE VOCAL APPARATUS. 47 

special sounds ; besides which it imparts a partic- 
ular sonorousness to the voice. 

The lips , by being projected forward or drawn 
backward, lengthen or shorten the anterior-poste- 
rior diameter of the buccal cavity, and so increase 
or diminish the length of the vocal pipe, and by 
their contraction regulate the size of its opening. 

Finally, to terminate these dry details of anat- 
omy, already too long, we have to mention the 
tongue, which of all parts of the mouth is most 
essential in modifying the vocal sounds, since it 
forms by its various positions the vowels and con- 
sonants, or increases or diminishes the buccal 
cavity. 



CHAPTER IV. 

FOEMATIOJS" OF THE VOICE. 

To understand the operation of the vocal appa- 
ratus in order to produce sounds, it is necessary to 
advert to the condition under which notes are pro- 
duced by instruments having some analogy to the 
larynx : — these, as we have already seen, may be 
divided into three kinds, strings, nutepipe, and 
reeds. 

Ferrein, long ago, compared the vocal ligaments 
to vibrating strings, and, at first sight, there seems 
to be a considerable resemblance between them, 
the pitch of the note in both being high or low, 
according as tbe tension of the cord is increased or 
diminished. But on accurate observation this re- 
semblance disappears, for we may easily satisfy 
ourselves by experiment that no string as short as 
the vocal cords could give a clear note as low as 
the middle notes even of the human voice ; again, 
the changes produced by tension are very differ- 
ent. In a vibrating string, the number of vibra- 
tions are to each other as the square root of the 
extending weight. Thus, if a string be stretched 



FOEMATIOIST OF THE VOICE. 49 

by a weight of 1 lb., and again by a weight of 9 
lbs., the number of vibrations will be as 1 to 3, or 
the last note will be the 12th above the 1st. 
Muller has shown that this condition does not 
[hold in the larynx, that the sounds produced by a 
variation of the extending force do not follow the 
same ratio ; finally, although a string adapted to 
perform the lowest note of the human voice may, 
by increased tension, be made to produce all the 
higher ones, yet it does not follow that one which, 
with moderate tension, as in the vocal ligaments, 
produces a high note, can be made to produce all 
the lower notes by diminished tension, for the 
vibration becomes irregular from diminished elas- 
ticity. We see this in the case of the violin and 
violoncello, the long strings of the latter being 
necessary for the production of a good bass note. 

The next class of instruments with which it 
might be compared is the flute. Here the pitch 
of sounds is determined almost entirely by the 
length of the vibrating column of air, though the 
sound is modified slightly by the diameter of the 
column and the kind of embouchure or mouth- 
piece. Here we find the pitch to be in inverse 
proportion to the length of the pipe, so that of 
two pipes, one being twice as long as the other, 
the shorter pipe would give a note an octave 
higher than the other, the vibrations being twice 
3 



50 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

as rapid. The length required to produce the 
lowest G- of the ordinary Bass voice is nearly 6 
feet — so that there is nothing in the form or di- 
mensions of the larynx and mouth which render 
it capable of producing the vibrations required 
for the tones of the voice. 

We have now to consider the third class of in- 
struments, those having a reed or tongue. These 
reeds may be elastic in themselves, or be made 
elastic by tension. We have two kinds of reed 
instruments, those having a " free " reed, as the 
accordeon, harmonium, etc., and those having a 
reed and pipe, as the bassoon, hautboy, etc. In 
the former, the pitch of the note is dependent en- 
tirely on the elasticity of the reed ; in the latter, 
upon the elasticity of the reed and the length of 
the tube. 

The researches of Weber are of great import- 
ance in determining the true nature of the vocal 
apparatus. He found : 1st. that the pitch of a 
reed could be lowered, but could not be raised by 
joining it to a pipe. 2d. The sinking of the note 
is not more than an octave. 3d. The fundamen- 
tal note of a reed could be lowered by lengthen- 
ing the pipe, but again restored by a further 
lengthening, and again lowered by a further in- 
crease. 4th. The length of tube necessary to 
change the pitch of the note depends upon the re- 



FOEMATIOIST OF THE VOICE. 51 

lation between the number of vibrations of the 
reed and the number of vibrations of the column 
of air in the tube. . . . 

From these considerations and the preceding 
paragraph, we see that if the tube may be made 
to yield tones of any depth by prolonging it, the 
embouchure being the same, it must be considered 
as a flute ; but if it can be lowered only an octave 
or less, with the same embouchure, it must be 
classed as a reed ; — the latter is the case with the 
larynx. 

We now see what is the true character of the 
vocal apparatus, that the sound is the result of 
the vibrations of the vocal ligaments, and that 
these vibrate in the same manner as the reed of 
any musical instrument, and that the pitch, though 
determined chiefly by the amount of tension of the 
vocal cords, which decreases or increases the size 
of the glottis, is also the result of the ascent or 
descent of the larynx, which shortens or lengthens 
the vocal pipe. As yet we know little concerning 
the mode in which tones are modified by the air- 
passages, both above and below the larynx, but 
that they are so modified there can be no doubt, 
if we observe the great amount of muscular con- 
traction taking place dining singing or speech. 

The production of a note presupposes two indis- 
pensable conditions : 1st, a body capable of vibra- 



02 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

ting ; 2d, an agent, competent to produce these 
vibrations. 

The first condition we have seen fulfilled in the 
larynx, which contains the chordae vocales. The 
second, in accordance with that beautiful provi- 
sion of nature that nothing shall be useless, we find 
in the air introduced in the lungs, and which, hav- 
ing undergone change, has therefore become a 
waste product. 

The mode of producing sound in the larynx is 
as follows : as long as the vocal cords retain their 
usual relaxed condition during expiration, no 
sound is heard, except a faint whisper as the air 
gently passes the cavity of the larynx ; but when 
a sound is to be produced, the vocal cords are 
suddenly made tense and drawn parallel (for when 
they diverge ever so little, no sound is produced), 
and applied in close proximity to each other, 
whereby the size of the orifice is greatly dimin- 
ished ; then the air, driven by an unusually forci- 
ble expiration past the vocal ligaments, sets them 
in vibration, and in this manner vocal sounds are 
produced. The tone, pitch, and intensity of this 
sound vary with the conformation of the larynx, 
the degree of tension and the approximation of the 
vocal cords, and the force of the expiratory 
effort. The narrower the opening, and the greater 
degree of tension of the cords under ordinary cir- 



FORMATION OF THE VOICE. 53 

cumstances, the more acute the sound produced, 
while a less degree of tension and wider opening 
produce a grave note. To have some conception 
of the variety and delicacy of the motions neces- 
sary to the adjustment of the vocal C, listen to 
some singer whose voice commands with ease a 
great extent of the scale. For every note there is 
a particular adjustment of the vocal cords. It 
is calculated that in man the ligaments vary in 
length about j*- of an inch, and in woman J. Now, 
the natural compass of most singers is about two 
octaves, or 24 semitones. Between each semitone 
an ordinary singer can sound 5 or 6 distinct notes, 
so that 120 would be only a moderate number of 
distinct sounds. He, therefore, produces 120 dif- 
ferent states of tension, and as the extreme vari- 
ation is only ^ of an inch, the variation required 
to pass from one note to another is but the -g-J-g- 
of an inch. 

A very expert singer can produce a much more 
delicate action than this. The celebrated Madame 
Mara, whose voice ranged through three octaves, 
could, it is said, produce between each tone-sound 
100 different intervals, or 2,100 in all, so that she 
could determine the contractions of her vocal liga- 
ments to nearly 1 7 ^ 00 of an inch. 

The quality of the voice is also modified by the 
length of the column of air included between the 



54 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

glottis and mouth, and that in the trachea, the 
tense or relaxed condition of the walls of the 
pharynx and fauces, and that of the nasal anfrac- 
tuosities and the state of dryness or moisture of 
the mucous membrane lining aerial passages. 

Articulation, or that modification or division of 
vocal sounds producing vowels and consonants, is 
accomplished by means of the tongue, teeth, lips, 
nasal passages, and fauces. 

THE MALE AND FEMALE VOICES. 

When we compare the male and female voices, 
we notice at once a great difference between them, 
yet the mechanism concerned in the production of 
the female voice is absolutely the same as that in 
the male. We find iifboth the larynx, lungs, and 
air-passages constructed in the same manner, and 
the same registers, chest, mixed, and falsetto. It 
is in the more or less frequent use of one or the 
other of these registers that one of the principal 
distinguishing differences between the male and 
female voice exists ; for whilst man produces his 
most beautiful effects with the chest register, 
woman possesses but few notes in that, but sings 
specially in the mixed register. 

The pitch of the vocal instrument of the male 
differs essentially from that of the female. 



FORMATION" OF THE VOICE. 55 

Though vocal music is written in the same way 
for both, though there are the same notes, the 
same staves, yet the same note executed by a man 
will not have the same value when executed by a 
woman, and when both sing the same piece, the 
woman always sings an octave higher than the 
man. This would lead us to suppose that the vocal 
instrument of woman was but one half the size of 
that of man ; but this is not the case, that of 
woman being one third only smaller ; consequently 
we must seek some other cause to expjain this dif- 
ference. This is found in the nature of the tissues 
composing the vocal parts, their thickness and 
rigidity having a great influence upon the note 
produced. In woman we find them thinner, more 
elastic than in man, especially the vocal membrane 
which leads to the production of sounds of a more 
acute pitch. 

Though the voice of woman is less harmonic 
than that of man, yet it possesses a peculiar sweet- 
ness, and soft sonorousness which that of man does 
not. This has been well described by Gerdy * 
" Woman's voice is less strong than that of man ; 
it is a charm which nature has given her to move 
us, to soften, to seduce us, to conquer and subju- 
gate us ; it seems as if the fibres of our heart were 
always in its unison." 

Woman's voice is less strong, less intense than 



56 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

that of man. This seems due to the smaller size 
of her vocal apparatus. The thoracic cavity of 
woman is less spacious and the muscles which 
move it less strong, hence there is a less quantity 
of air set in motion; on the other hand, her voice 
is softer and sweeter. 

As to the range of the voice it is almost the 
same in both sexes. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE VOICE. 

Scarcely has the child entered the world before 
it utters a disagreeable cry, to which the name of 
wailing has been given. Indeed, as the babe only 
makes itself heard to express a want, a suffering, 
the wailing of the child is the cry of pain, it is 
painful to listen to and excites painful sentiments. 
Its squalling, disagreeable character may be ac- 
counted for by the fact that the vocal pipe pos- 
sesses none of the elements necessary to modify 
advantageously the sounds produced by the lar- 
ynx. The mouth presents too small a cavity to 
produce a harmonic resonance of the voice ; the 
other parts are also but imperfectly developed, 
and it has not as yet learned the use of the mus- 
cles which modify the parts. 

Voice is the principal means of communication 
between the parent and child, and its development 



FORMATION OF THE VOICE. 57 

is always in proportion to the necessities of the 
latter. In the first periods of life the child is only 
related to society by the material assistance de- 
rived from it. To sustain life and to develop its 
body are its only wants, and for their expression 
the monosyllabic cry suffices. 

As the child grows, sounds little by little lose 
their disagreeable character, but they do not ac- 
quire the soft sonorousness of the developed voice, 
until the little being by a few words shows the 
first operations of its mind. 

The eagerness to repeat the sounds heard, to call 
persistently for objects or persons liked, very soon 
produces a modification in the monotony of the 
voice. From this period until they are 6 or 7 
years old development of the vocal organ is much 
more connected with intellectual than with organic 
life. Speech now becomes the means of develop- 
ing and perfecting the voice. 

The development of the voice requires the most 
assiduous attention, and it is in youth that the 
vocal education must begin. We must strive, by 
every possible means, to obtain all the modifica- 
tions of which an instrument, so admirable and so 
precious as the voice, is capable. Too great atten- 
tion cannot be paid to the cultivation of the articu- 
late voice. Children should be made to read aloud, 
pronouncing rigorously all the syllables, and so 
3* 



58 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

managing their voice as to give the exact meaning 
of the phrase. They should avoid breathing too 
often or too abruptly, which might occasion a kind 
of hiccup, determining an irritation of the mucous 
membrane of the vocal cords, and so produce a 
hoarseness difficult to overcome. 

Having educated the hearing of children so that 
they will enjoy music, and taught them to open 
their mouth, and to give it the form most favora- 
ble to the production of the particular sound de- 
sired, the next step will be to make them execute 
very slowly, not entire scales as is ordinarily done, 
but only the notes which they are able to produce 
without effort. This exercise should be repeated 
daily, but should not be continued longer than a 
quarter, or at the most, a half hour, according to 
the constitution of the child, lest the powers of the 
wind chest should be too strongly taxed. 

If this plan is followed, the muscles will learn 
to contract spontaneously under the influence of 
the will, and gain strength, and power of executing 
different notes readily and with ease. 

This strength and power of execution is precisely 
what is wanting in people who have learned to 
sing late in life, since muscles left until they have 
attained their full development in inaction, oppose 
greater resistance to the will than those which in 
youth have been trained to obey it. 



FORMATION OF THE VOICE. 59 

It is also of the greatest importance that young 
people should not be allowed to sing pieces not 
completely within the range of their voice, nor to 
strive to reach certain notes by too great nor too 
prolonged efforts, lest they should lose whatever 
disposition they may have for singing. If the 
attempt to execute certain musical compositions 
can alter, or even destroy, voices already formed, 
would it not, if it did no worse, prevent the de- 
velopment of vocal organs, yet young and delicate ? 

Until the age of 13 or 14, the voice of the young 
girl differs but little from that of the boy; but 
from this time they begin to change. The boy's 
voice is to become that of a man ; the girl's that 
of a woman. The time at which this change be- 
gins is the age of puberty. 

Until puberty, the youth has lived for himself 
alone. To develop his organism has been almost 
his sole care ; but having arrived at that period, 
eloquent signs indicate that a great change is about 
to take place in his organism. A new function is 
to be established, and henceforth man can produce 
a being similar to himself. The modification of 
the voice, which always occurs at that time, is one 
of the chief symptoms of the setting in of the gen- 
erative function ; and it is to this modification that 
the term vox rauca, change of voice, or break, " la 
mue " of the French, has been applied. 



60 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

G-irls generally develop more rapidly than boys. 
They arrive at the age of puberty, and become old 
sooner. Hippocrates attributed this to their more 
delicate organism, and to their mode of living. 
We find also that a variety of causes influences the 
age of puberty ; the climate, for we find it earlier 
in warm than in cold climates ; the mode of living, 
for it is certain that puberty develops itself earlier 
among the wealthy than the poorer classes ; the 
theatre, the reading of novels, or any cause which, 
exciting the sensibility, provokes and accelerates 
the movements of nature. 

The transformation is not always easy, some- 
times being felt painfully, both in the physical and 
moral life of the woman. Yet sometimes it is 
effected in an almost inappreciable manner. The 
pitch lowers one or two notes, and the voice gains 
in strength what it has lost in acuteness. But if 
at that time she uses her voice much, she exposes 
herself to sore throat, or even loss of voice, occa- 
sioned by the exaggerated physiological work, 
which, at this time, the larynx is forced to un- 
dergo. 

As we have said, the change occurs later in boys 
than in girls. The young man knows not the pain- 
ful trials that await the young girl; he goes 
through the change almost unconsciously, except 
that the voice becomes modified. 



FORMATION OF THE VOICE. 61 

These modifications vary very much as regards 
the sensible phenomena which they present, but 
there are two modifications common to all and 
entirely characteristic ; 1st, the modification of the 
timbre ; 2d, of the pitch. 

The timbre, which gave to the boys the singing 
qualities of the voice of the young girl, changes 
completely its character ; the pitch is sensibly low- 
ered, and little by little the voice acquires those 
qualities which distinguish the male voice. Some- 
times, about the age of 14 or 15, this alteration 
takes place insensibly, but more often, especially 
in those children who sing, it is accompanied by 
exaggerated manifestations of the change; the 
voice becomes harsh, and uneven; the boy loses 
the control of his vocal cords, and often emits a 
high note when he desires to sound a low one, or 
reversely, or even there is complete aphonia or loss 
of voice. 

The phenomena to which we have just alluded, 
do not follow any very regular order of develop- 
ment. Generally the voice does not fail all at 
once. It is veiled, sometimes hoarse, the hoarse- 
ness continuing during the whole period of the 
change of voice, and the pure timbre being re- 
gained only after the lapse of six months or a year. 

After a lapse of time, varying in different indi- 
viduals, the young pubescent has lost entirely his 



62 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

child's voice ; but that which he now possesses has 
not yet the strength, energy, timbre or pitch which 
are to characterize it ; it vacillates between what 
it has been and what it will be. This is due to 
the fact that the larynx has not yet acquired its 
full development ; the growth of that organ taking 
place slowly, and not being completed till 18 or 
20. It may, then, be said, that the period of the 
change of voice in man varies from 3 to 5 years, 
and in woman 1 or 2 years less. 

It is not necessary that the young pubescent 
should stop singing as soon as vox rauca appears. 
Most music teachers are in the habit of suspending 
all exercises, and even forbid their pupils to sing 
at all. Although it is necessary to take the 
greatest precaution, lest the exercise should pro- 
duce a weakening of the vocal organs, and there- 
fore an arrest of development; nevertheless, I do 
not hold to the opinion of these masters ; but, on 
the contrary, I believe that the exercises should 
be continued, even during the vox rauca, always 
taking care to make the pubescents sing with the 
utmost caution, practising not more than a quar- 
ter of an hour a day, and confining the exercises 
within an octave and a half, making no attempt 
to produce either the highest or lowest note, which 
he could previously sing. Another general rule 
is, to study carefully the voice of the pupils, to 



FOKMATIOlsr OF THE VOICE. 63 

observe every day the notes they have lost, or are 
not able to sing easily, and to take them off from 
their exercises. Finally, there will be an epoch of 
very short duration, when the compass of the voice 
is only an octave. During this time only would I 
advise a complete suspension of all vocal exercises. 
These may soon be resumed, proceeding gradually 
to add notes to the exercises in proportion as the 
voice gains in strength and range. 

If these rules are followed, instead of being in- 
terfered with, the physiological change of the voice 
will be hastened; the voice will be better devel- 
oped, will have more strength, a greater range and 
more suppleness than if left to itself. If, how- 
ever, hoarseness comes on at any time during the 
change of voice, all practice must be given up, and 
the pupil should be warned against all screaming, 
loud bursts of voice, or anything else tending to 
increase the irritation of the vocal membrane. 

After puberty, the larynx of the young woman 
continues to develop until she is 22 or 23 years 
of age, and that of the young man until the age of 
24 or 25. The voice follows the development ; it 
insensibly acquires greater strength and range 
until the moment when the organ has ceased to 
grow. From that time, no further change takes 
place in the voice, except that produced by study 
and exercise. 



64 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

The remark of Dr. Fournie, that it is very dim- 
cult to determine the precise moment at which old 
age begins, will be found quite true, if we judge 
only from external appearances, for some persons 
possess the happy privilege of preserving all the 
outward signs of maturity, far beyond the ordi- 
nary limits. Years alone do not make the old 
man. It is rather the transformations taking 
place in the organism, one of the leading charac- 
teristics of which is the change occurring in the 
voice. The timbre loses its purity, the voice be- 
comes veiled, and the speech is slow, hesitating, 
and tremulous, on account of the alterations which 
have taken, and are still taking place in both the 
vocal and genital organs. 

In woman one of the distinctive phenomena is 
the greater or less amount of congestion which 
takes place, and which sometimes produces hoarse- 
ness, and always a lowering of the vocal pitch; 
the timbre of the voice changes little by little ; its 
soft sweetness disappears, and finally it becomes 
very similar to that of man. 

These modifications follow closely and seem to 
be connected with, if not dependent upon, the same 
causes which j)roduce the suppression of the 
menses. It seems as if nature having given to the 
voice of the girl power to express the part she is 
called to play in the great function of reproduc- 



FOEMATIOIT OF THE VOICE. 65 

tion, wished to point out by this modification that 
her ability to perform her part no longer exists. 

The changes in the voice are dependent upon 
organic modification in the larynx. The mucous 
membrane lining it becomes of a more intense red- 
dish tint ; the circulation in the part is more ac- 
tive; and sometimes even polypoid growths are 
developed upon the vocal cords. These mem- 
branes always thicken, the cartilages become 
harder, and a sensation of uneasiness rather than 
of pain is experienced. 

These changes are not so strikingly manifested 
in man as in woman. Although there is often a 
perceptible hoarseness, the modifications follow 
each other so insensibly that they are scarcely no- 
ticed. Probably the first phenomena noticed are 
the growing weakness and lowering of the pitch 
of the voice; he can no longer produce all the 
notes he formerly could by the chest register, and 
remedies that want of power by the use of the fal- 
setto. 



CHAPTER V. 

REGISTERS OF THE VOICE. 

A great variety of opinions exists among sing- 
ers and teachers concerning the precise significa- 
tion of the term register. The human voice pre- 
sents in the same individual certain sonorous qual- 
ities differing greatly according to the degree of 
the vocal scale in which it is examined. To these 
varieties, the names chest, falsetto,* and mixed 
voice are generally given. 

Dr. Fournie's theory is by far the most philo- 
sophical ; it is the one we shall adopt. He consi- 
ders the three type voices, (chest, falsetto, and 
mixed,) as the result of the vibration of the same 
sonorous body, the mucous fold covering the in- 

* The terms chest and falsetto voice would seem to imply that the 
modifications of sounds to which those names are given are produced 
or resumed from the chest and arriere-gorge respectively. This is not 
bo. The names indicate the character and quality of the sound alone. 
The chest notes are produced by the ordinary mode of vibration ; the 
falsetto notes, which are purer and more fluty, are considered to be prob- 
ably due to vibrations of the harmonic subdivisions of the column of 
air in the trachea, or to vibrations of the inner borders of the vocal 
cords. 



REGISTERS OF THE VOICE. 67 

ternal border of the chordae vocales, the difference 
between them being that in the production of each 
one, different lengths of the vocal membrane are 
set in vibration. This length is determined by the 
muscles of the parts. 

The chest voice depends upon two conditions for 
its production : 

1st. In the simultaneous increase in length and 
thickness of the vocal cords. 

2d. In modifications in length of the vibratile 
parts of the vocal membrane. This length is de- 
termined by the length of the glottis, which is 
shortened from behind forward in proportion as 
the tone rises. 

These conditions characterize the chest register 
only when they exist simultaneously; that is, 
for any given note, the lengths of the vocal 
cords, their thickness, and the length of the vocal 
membrane must be constant in the same indi- 
vidual. 

When the chest register is used, the transverse 
diameter of the glottis is small and linear, and the 
interior borders of the vocal cords which limit it 
are so thick and rigid that the air experiences a 
certain degree of difficulty in passing through the 
rima glottis, and setting the vocal membrane vi- 
brating ; but it is precisely this difficulty which 
gives to the chest voice, the strength, roundness, 



68 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

and energy which characterize it. We must re- 
member that the intensity of the sounds depends 
upon the amount of force with which the sonorous 
body is set in motion. 

The falsetto voice is found by : 

1st. The shortening of the glottis from behind 
forward, so that the vocal reed is much shorter 
than during the production of the chest voice. 
This shortening is produced by the contraction of 
the lateral crico-arytenoides. It is also shortened 
from before backward by the contraction of the 
oblique and vertical fibres of the thyro-arytenoi- 
dean muscles. The action of these muscles is di- 
rect, it being produced by their thickening during 
contraction. 

The particular quality which distinguishes this 
register is dependent on the smallness of the reed 
which produces it, and is also due to the particular 
disposition of the different parts of the vocal pipe, 
of which we shall speak more at length when we 
treat of the timbre. 

The mixed voice is produced by : 

1st. A very long glottis, extending the whole 
distance between the thyroid and the superior bor- 
der of the cricoid. 

2d. A greater transverse diameter of the glottis 
than in the production of the other registers. This 
disposition of the parts results from the moderate 



KEGISTEKS OF THE VOICE. 69 

tension exercised by the lateral crico-arytenoides 
and the thyro-arytenoides muscles. 

The mixed voice is not produced by all singers 
in the same way ; almost every one has his own 
manner, the result of the lessons he has received 
and the formation and disposition of his vocal or- 
gans. Very frequently it is used to produce high 
notes by those whose organs are not sufficiently 
cultivated, and who thus remedy their insufficiency 
by a forced tension of the parts. 

This register is a medium between the chest and 
falsetto, being softer than the former, but lacking 
the rich roundness which characterizes it. It is 
more sonorous, however, more far reaching than 
the falsetto. 

Singing masters do not all agree upon the exist- 
ence of this mixed register. Indeed, many con- 
sider it as nothing more than a diminished chest 
voice. But in a physiological point of view the 
mixed voice exists. Less painful to produce than 
the chest voice, it is also a period of rest for the 
singer. It is especially useful when the singer, 
having arrived at quite a high note, experiences 
some difficulty in producing new ones. However, 
the singer should endeavor to develop as much as 
possible the chest and falsetto registers, and to ob- 
tain by a suitable variation of the timbre and in- 
tensity of the sounds of these registers all the 



70 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

various tones which the human voice is capable of 
producing. 

Besides the chest, falsetto, and mixed voice we 
have also the so-called head voice, which is very 
often confounded with the falsetto. Let us see 
how it is formed. 

In studying the anatomy of the vocal apparatus 
we found that the isthmus of the throat, or pharynx, 
was formed by a contractile surface lined with mu- 
cous membrane. The anterior portion of this is 
bounded below by the base of the tongue, and 
above by the veil of the palate and uvula ; the 
two lateral walls being bounded by the pillars of 
the veil of the palate, and that in the recess or 
fossa between these pillars the tonsils were lodged ; 
besides which the nasal cavities were shown to 
communicate with the pharynx and with several 
cavities or sinuses in the bones of the face. Now 
in the production of sound the veil of the palate 
or soft palate, as it is indiscriminately termed, 
plays a very important part, for, being easily 
movable, we can by means of it increase or decrease 
the size of the vocal pipe. This decrease takes 
place progressively from the lowest to the high- 
est note. In fact, according to whether it rises or 
falls, the sonorous column of air is found to pass 
into the mouth or into the nasal fossae. During 
the emission of the head notes the soft palate comes 



REGISTEKS OF THE VOICE. 71 

in contact with the base of the tongue, and the 
sound resounds in the naso-pharyngeal region. 
Hence the name of head voice. 

If, on the contrary, the soft palate is raised so as 
to close the posterior part of the nasal fossae, the 
column of air escapes entirely by the mouth. 

The phenomena of whistling appear to corre- 
spond nearly to those of the production of musical 
sounds. The lips, by the aid of their appropriate 
muscles, are brought into a state of tension anal- 
ogous to that of the vocal ligaments ; and the pas- 
sage of a current of air between them compels 
their surfaces to vibrate. The resonant cavity is 
the hollow of the mouth ; and the mechanical con- 
ditions for whistling differ from those for speak- 
ing in this respect, that the current of air for 
whistling passes from the resonant cavity to the 
vibrating lips. For producing their lowest note 
in whistling, the tongue is very far retracted, and 
the lower lip appears to be the same. The range 
of notes in whistling is greater than in singing. 



CHAPTER VI. 

TIMBRE OF THE VOICE. 

We have seen that the intensity or volume of 
sound depends upon the multitude of the vibra- 
tions of the sonorous body, and is measured by the 
amplitude of the vibration of the auditory nerves ; 
that the pitch depends upon the greater or less 
rapidity of these vibrations and the timbre or 
quality upon their form. Perhaps we had better 
say of the last that it is produced by the second- 
ary sounds which always accompany the principal 
one, and which, therefore, sets in motion accessory 
fibres of the vestibular nerves. 

A sound produced in. the larynx traverses a vo- 
cal pipe of extreme mobility, and, therefore, it is 
not only possible, but almost certain, that the 
sound produced is greatly modified both in its 
volume and its timbre or quality. 

The special timbre belonging to each individual 
depends upon the form, size, and particular state 
of the different parts of the vocal pipe. The 
smallest alteration in size, the slightest change in 
the condition of the parts, as that produced by an 



TIMBRE OF THE VOICE. 73 

* 

inflammation of the mucous membrane, by the en- 
largement of the tonsils, by the plugging up of the 
nasal fossae, the loss of the teeth, or an affection of 
the veil of the palate, is sufficient to change imme- 
diately its natural character. 

The various shades of modification of which the 
voice in the same individual is capable, may be 
classed under the principal types ; the sombre tim- 
bre and the clear timbre. 

The sombre timbre results from the resounding 
of the voice in the vocal pipe, which is disposed in 
such a manner that the cavities are as large as 
possible and the orifices by which these cavities 
communicate with the external air are sufficiently 
diminished in size to oppose any obstacle to the 
free exit of the air contained in the vocal pipe : 
to understand clearly the formation of this timbre, 
we have only while pronouncing aloud the letter 
A (French), to approximate the lips little by little, 
as if we wished to pronounce the letter O, always 
sounding the same note ; we {perceive that the tim- 
bre loses in a measure its ringing quality, in other 
words it becomes sombre. This modification of 
the timbre results evidently from the narrowing 
of the buccal orifice, which imprisons the sound in 
the mouth, and, consequently, favors its resound- 
ing in that cavity, and from the fact that to pro- 
nounce the letter O, the mass of air inclosed in 
4 



74 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

♦ 

the pharyngeal canal is required to escape less 
rapidly than while pronouncing the letter A. 

The sombre is more musical than the clear tim- 
bre, and therefore produces a much more agreeable 
impression upon the ear, but it requires a well de- 
veloped chest and a very solid larynx to sing much 
with it. It is well adapted to the Italian lan- 
guage, and is, in fact, the one mostly in use among 
the singers of Southern Europe, since it is adapted 
especially to those languages where there is a pre- 
ponderance of vowel sounds. 

It is generally said that the French owe its in- 
troduction to Mr. Duprez, who with his sombre 
timbre had an immense success on his return from 
Italy. But its use in the English language would 
require a very considerable modification of the 
sounds of certain letters ; for as we have seen, in 
order to give to the voice the peculiar qualities 
characterizing this timbre, the buccal orifice must 
be made smaller than in the ordinary voice and 
the jaws approximated, as in the pronunciation of 
the letter O, so that the a of father in singing 
would resemble very much the o of other, and the 
a mfate, would be like e in her. 

Voices of a sombre timbre are easily fatigued. 
The laryngopharyngeal mucous membrane be- 
comes dry, and the vocal cords soon wear out. 
When this misfortune overtakes the singer, he has 



TIMBRE OF THE VOICE. 75 

but one remedy, total and complete rest of his 
vocal organs. 

The clear timbre is diametrically opposed to the 
preceding as regards its sonorous qualities and its 
formation ; while in the sombre timbre the buccal 
orifice is slightly narrowed, in the clear timbre, 
the jaws are widely distended and the mouth 
open. The same is true with regard to the isth- 
mus of the throat, which, while it is narrowed in 
the sombre timbre, in order to enable the voice to 
resound in the pharynx, is, on the contrary, as 
large as possible in the clear timbre. The buccal 
and pharyngeal cavities undergo opposite modifi- 
cation in these timbres. In the sombre they are as 
large as possible ; in the clear they are a little 
narrower than in the ordinary voice. The sounds 
produced are also diametrically opposite ; for ex- 
ample, o is pronounced like a in mat, while the 
word her is sounded very much like hare. 

There is besides the sombre and clear timbres, 
what Dr. Fournie has so well described as the gut- 
tural timbre. 

The guttural timbre derives its quality from a 
too great narrowing of the isthmus of the throat, 
the arriere gorge of the French. This narrowing 
may be congenital, or may be produced by a 
swelling of the tonsils, or it may be the conse- 
quence of bad tuition. When the guttural or 



76 IIYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

throaty timbre is congenital, it may be remedied to 
a certain degree by a daily exercise, consisting of 
the production of laryngeal sounds without the 
apparent assistance of the muscles of the throat. 
To do this, execute vocal exercises in front of a 
looking-glass, keeping the tongue projected as far 
as possible out of the mouth, and let also the 
opening into the throat be as large as possible. 
The mirror will guide sufficiently in the execution 
of this exercise ; the pupil may also execute the 
vocal exercises upon the e of the word met, since 
the production of that sound necessitates the pro- 
pulsion of the tongue forward and a relaxation of 
the throat, modifications indispensable to the end 
desired. 

When the guttural timbre is owing to swollen 
tonsils, and this is generally the case, the sound is 
produced by the tonsils interfering with the con- 
traction of the veil of the palate, and, consequently, 
it is prevented from discharging one of its most 
important functions, namely, the occlusion of the 
nasal fossae. When this timbre is the result of 
neglect on the part of the teacher, it is perceived 
only during the emission of certain notes. It re- 
sults often from the great exertions singers make 
to reach very high notes. An exaggerated nar- 
rowing of the isthmus of the throat takes place 
during the production of those notes, and, no 



TIMBRE OF THE VOICE. 77 

doubt, gives to tliera their guttural quality. But 
the voice loses iu sonorousness the little it gains in 
range. 

There is also a buccal and a nasal timbre. In 
vocalization — that is, in the production of the non- 
articulated voice — we may cause the sound to pass 
through the nose or the mouth. In this way we 
may produce the pure buccal and nasal timbres. 
The latter is muffled, it is somewhat weak and 
possesses but little volume. These characteristics 
are, no doubt, produced by the small size and the 
flattened form of the cavity in which the voice re- 
sounds. The buccal timbre is distinguished from 
the preceding by the greater intensity, brilliancy, 
and volume of the sound. 

Although it is possible to sing exclusively in 
either of these timbres, yet it is very rare that 
either one is exclusively used in vocalizing. Gen- 
erally in the production of the grave and medium 
notes, the sonorous waves escape from both mouth 
and nostrils, while in the formation of the 
high notes the sounds escape exclusively from the 
mouth. The timbre then possesses a peculiar 
ringing quality and a slight degree of harshness 
indicative of its origin. Skilful singers, however, 
modify or conceal altogether this bad quality by a 
peculiar disposition of the mouth, consisting of an 
increase in the size of the interior dimension, and 



78 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

a diminution of the buccal aperture. By these 
means they force the voice to resound within the 
buccal cavity and produce a timbre which softens 
that of the vocal reed. 

Besides the timbres already given, there is a 
peculiar quality belonging to and distinguishing 
each individual which he cannot modify, and 
poetically called by the Germans the color of the 
sound. This is of the greatest importance in 
musical art, since it furnishes to it one of its most 
powerful means of expression. Anger, pity, joy, 
grief, love, each modify the voice, and in so char- 
teristic a manner that even should the words 
escape us, the quality, the timbre of the sound 
alone would speak clearly. Fear and languor 
lower the voice ; surprise takes it away, anger 
renders its hoarse, admiration prolongs it, hope 
makes it sonorous, joy resounding. There are 
strong voices, the sounds of which are loud and 
powerful ; sweet voices, with flute-like tones ; fine 
voices, of which the timbre is always the same. 
There are voices exactly the reverse of these ; hard, 
veiled voices, whose sounds are rough and with- 
out any ringing quality, uneven voices where the 
fine sounds are unequally distributed, and coarse 
voices where the fine, even timbre is altogether 
wanting. 

The volume of the larynx is generally indepen- 



TIMBRE OF THE VOICE. 79 

dent of stature ; tall men sometimes having small 
larynges, while some small men have very large 
ones. The form and consistency of the vocal 
organs, however, coincide generally with the phy- 
sical conformation and constitution of the individ- 
ual. Indeed, each person presents a conformation 
which is recognized almost as readily in a separate 
part as in the whole individual. It commonly 
happens that the man in whom the curved line 
predominates is corpulent, his bones but little de- 
veloped, the cellular tissue abundant, and all the 
angles well rounded. These characteristics or ap- 
pendages of the lymphatic-sanguineous tempera- 
ment are also strikingly shown in the organs of 
the voice, and give to them an appearance and 
consistency greatly resembling those of the female 
larynx. 

The prominence and depression produced by the 
thyroid cartilages in the front part of the neck are 
but slightly marked, the height of the larynx is 
comparatively small, the laryngeal cavity rounded, 
and the vocal cords, ordinarily very large, circum- 
scribe a very small glottis. These anatomical 
peculiarities give rise to a voice which is very 
sweet and high-pitched, called the Tenor, 

If, on the other hand, the straight line predomi- 
nates in the individual, if the angles of the body 
be well marked, and the cellular tissue small in 



80 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

amount, we shall find a well defined, salient angle, 
in the front of the neck (Adam's apple), a com- 
paratively great height of the alas of the thyroid- 
cartilages, and the laryngeal cavity greater in its 
antero-posterior diameter than the former one, will 
have a correspondingly greater length of the vocal 
cords. These are the characteristics of the Bass 
voice. This voice is generally met with in athletic 
individuals, and the organs of the voice develop 
harmoniously with the remainder of the body. 

The characteristics of the Baritone voice are 
midway between those belonging to the tenor and 
bass. If this voice is high-pitched, the character- 
istics will be analogous in character to the tenor ; 
if low, to the bass. 

Voices are generally divided into the following 
classes : — 



Female. 


Male. 


Soprano, 

Mezzo-Soprano, 

Contralto. 


Tenor, 

Baritone, 

Bass. 



This classification, based exclusively upon the 
pitch of the voice, answers well enough, perhaps, 
for the requirements of teaching, but as a scientific 
division seems incomplete, and based upon wholly 
insufficient grounds. In order that any classifica- 
tion of voice should rest upon sound principles, the 



TIMBRE OF THE VOICE. 81 

divisions of voice should not only be determined by 
the pitch, but also by the timbre, the intensity and 
the volume — in short, by everything which distin- 
guishes one sound from another. It is evident 
that sounds are not sufficiently characterized by 
their high or low pitch ; for we see baritone sing- 
ers readily sing A and B, and tenor voices which 
sing A below. These notes, it is true, do not have 
the sonorous qualities which characterize the other 
tones of these singers. The something, the quid 
ignotwn, which distinguishes the A of the tenor 
from the A of the baritone, is due to the different 
timbre, intensity, and volume of the voice, in the 
tenor and baritone. 

These conditions are necessary to a full appre- 
ciation of any sound, and we find a reason for 
their necessity in the study of the vocal apparatus. 

If we take any note capable of being given by 
either a tenor or a baritone voice, the E in the 
fourth space for example, we find that since it is 
about the middle of his natural register, it will be 
produced by the tenor without effort, will have a 
natural and agreeable timbre, and will be both as 
intense and voluminous as possible, since, as the 
sound is moderately high, the glottis is open for 
nearly its entire length, and the resistance of the 
vocal membrane to the effort of the lungs is justly 

proportioned. The baritone emits the note with a 

4* . 



82 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

degree of difficulty ; the timbre will not be like 
that of the tenor, since the vocal membrane is not 
as thin as in the tenor. The vocal membrane of 
the baritone is also longer, and to produce the 
same note a greater degree of tension is requisite, 
and this tension also modifies the timbre, while the 
intensity and volume may be the same in both 
cases. 

What has been said of the tenor and baritone 
applies also to the bass and the different female 
voices. 

The soprano is the highest female voice, extend- 
ing generally two octaves from C to C. 

The mezzo-soprano of woman is analogous to the 
baritone of man. Like the latter it unites the two 
extreme limits of the voice, and ranges generally 
from A to A. 

The contralto is the gravest of female voices. 
Generally extending from F to G, the contralto 
may be recognized by the character of the larynx, 
that organ being more voluminous than is usual in 
females. Its antero-posterior diameter is also lar- 
ger than the average, thus rendering the thyroid 
angle or Adam's apple more prominent. 

The male and female voices begin and end at 
different notes of the musical scale, as is shown by 
the following table. 



TIMBRE OF THE VOICE. 



83 



COMPARATIVE SCALE 

OP THE RANGES OP THE HUMAN VOJCE. 

mi. fa. sol. la. si. do. re. mi. fa. soli la. si. do. re. mi. fa. sol. la. si. dohre. mi. fa. sol. la. si. do. 



Mezzo Soprano. . 



The compass of the voice may be increased by 
exercise. This sometimes gives rise to an illusion, 
influencing the teacher and the pupil, relative to 
the power of cultivation to affect the natural lim- 
its of the voice. It is dangerous to attempt to 
transcend the natural capabilities of a voice, to de- 
sire to transform a baritone into a tenor, or a mez- 
zo-soprano into a contralto. The organ cannot be 
recreated, and the fatiguing effort only destroys 
its natural qualities. Exercise, by developing the 
voice, may add a few notes, but it cannot cause 
the cords to vibrate beyond or below their natu- 
ral elasticity. Therefore, so soon as one perceives 
that the ringing quality is lost, that the freshness 
and purity are diminished, it becomes, at once, 



84 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

necessary to abandon a method so opposed to the 
natural one. 

It is, specially, the abuse of the acute sounds 
which destroys the voice; and, from their first 
studies, the pupils are most frequently exposed to 
this danger, the teacher carrying the head or the 
chest tones too far. In the first instance he runs 
the risk of breaking the voice ; in the second, of 
destroying the medium, which remains thin, weak 
and veiled even when the head voice or the chest 
voice has its normal characteristics. 

The physical qualities necessary to an agree- 
able and powerful voice naturally find their place 
here. 

The voice may be acute or grave, sonorous or 
muffled, true or false. 

The low-pitched or grave voice results from a 
larynx which is short and whose inferior vocal 
cords are more lax, and at the same time of greater 
width, together with the peculiar shape that the 
vocal pipe is made to assume at the time of the 
emission of the note, while the high-pitched or 
acute voice is obviously the result of the very 
opposite conditions of the same organ. I may add 
that accumulation of mucus in the air-passages 
also influences the pitch of the voice. In this way 
we can explain why it is that in the morning the 
voice is always more grave ; it also accounts for 



TIMBRE OE THE VOICE. 85 

the lowering of the pitch in those who take cold 
readily. 

The purity of the voice results from the ease 
with which the air is expelled from the lungs ; the 
precision with which the varying tensions of the 
vocal cords are made ; the absence of all obstacles 
to the passage of air through the bronchi, larynx, 
mouth and nasal fossae ; the condition of the mem- 
brane lining the vocal apparatus; the art with 
which the sonorous wave is modified in the buccal 
and nasal cavities before reaching the external 
air; and finally, the absence of all causes which 
might oppose the action of the expiratory and in- 
spiratory muscles, as well as those which move the 
larynx itself. 

There is another subject on which I am often 
consulted, and which from its importance needs 
careful consideration. 

We see daily people who, though having strong, 
sonorous and flexible voices, are yet unable to sing 
correctly ; this is popularly denominated " having 
no ear for music." Bennati's view of this subject 
is, that this inability is due to physical discord- 
ance between the ear and those organs which, hav- 
ing their seat in the larynx, produce and modify 
the voice. This discordance is a neuralgic trouble, 
arising from a want of proper harmonic relation 
between the actions performed by the vocal organs 



86 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

and those imposed by their action upon the audi- 
tory nerves. This explains why it is that people 
having strong and flexible voices, yet sing out of 
tune ; the defects of their voices, if there be any, 
are due to the form, the energy and disposition of 
the organs themselves, whilst a faulty intonation 
results from the fact, that the nervous system of 
the ear, since it does not coincide with the nervous 
system of the vocal apparatus, rests upon different 
relations to the sound produced, and is therefore 
affected in proportions which have an increasing 
tendency to disturb one another's action. 

Outwardly the ear presents but little to be no- 
ticed. The secret of its power lies in the most 
hidden portion. Anatomists for a long time stud- 
ied only those parts concerned in the transmission 
of the sonorous wave, to the fluid contained in the 
membranous labyrinth upon which the termina- 
tions of the auditory nerves are distributed. By 
the external auditory canal the sound reaches the 
tympanum, and thence by a very complicated path 
passes to the labyrinth; within this is inclosed 
the cochlea, where it plays upon the nervous key- 
board. This is formed by a spiral membrane of 
great delicacy, upon which the nerves are distri- 
buted, and which is bathed by a liquid within the 
small osseous cavern of the labyrinth. The mi- 
croscope has shown this membrane to be composed 



TIMBRE OF THE VOICE. 87 

of about three thousand small fibres, the filaments 
of the acoustic nerves; the extreme delicacy of 
these nerves enables the ear to detect with won- 
derful facility the various sounds. 

Hence the conditions which must be fulfilled, in 
order that the voice may have a correct intona- 
tion, seem to be : First, that there shall be an apti- 
tude for music : secondly, that the cerebral sub- 
stance in which the sound is to be registered shall 
be in a normal condition ; thirdly, the absence of 
all lesions of the auditory nerve which transmit 
the sounds to the brain ; fourthly, absence of all 
grave affections of the ear ; fifthly, that the organs 
of the voice themselves must be in a perfectly 
healthy state; and sixthly, that the proper rela- 
tion of ear and voice shall exist. 

We meet constantly people whose auditory and 
vocal apparatus are perfect, but in whom there is 
a lack of musical aj)titude ; so also we sometimes 
meet with people who have been noted for the ex- 
cellence of their voice, the acuity of their ear, and 
who have lost the latter power from an inflamma- 
tion of the internal or middle ear, or a local apo- 
plexy ; often they recover it with the cure of the 
trouble. There is another class, who understand 
thoroughly all that harmony requires, yet are un- 
able, on account of hoarseness, or of an ulceration 
of the throat, to give to each note its proper into- 



88 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

nation. The difficulty may also arise from a dis- 
cordance between the pitch of the sound, the ener- 
gy of the modifying organs, and the volume and 
rapidity of the breathing. 

The falsity of the voice, however, is very often 
more apparent than real, and, though often incura- 
ble, it may sometimes be removed ; but the manner 
of doing this must necessarily vary, according to 
the cause of the difficulty. This, however, con- 
cerns the master more than the pupil. 



CHAPTEE VII 

PHYSIOGNOMY OF THE VOICE. 

The ability to utter sounds is not confined to 
man alone ; many creatures share this power with 
him, and such special and peculiar sound has, gen- 
erally, its characteristic designation. Thus we 
say, the dog barks, the horse neighs, the sparrow 
chirps, the owl hoots, the duck quacks, the pig 
grunts, the lion roars ; we speak of the buzzing of 
insects, the gabbling of geese, the croaking of frogs. 

To man alone, however, belongs the full power 
of complete expression through the voice — of 
speech — of imitation. But, whatever may be his 
aptitude for imitation, his study, his perseverance, 
he never can succeed in completely changing its 
character. The natural individuality of the voice 
will still be apparent. We see this illustrated in 
persons of different temperaments : each man pos- 
sessing a peculiar tone or timbre of voice equally 
as indicative of character as each feature of the 
face. 

This timbre or quality of tone may be appropri- 
ately termed the physiognomy of the voice, or, in 



90 H¥(*1E.NE OF THE VOICE. 

other words, the revelation through sound of the 
inner man. Socrates divined the quality of man's 
mind or soul by the tone of his voice. This great 
philosopher, on one occasion, beautifully and elo- 
quently exclaimed : " Speak, that I may see you ! " 

We perceive in a stutterer one that is easily en- 
raged, and as easily pacified, vain, officious, incon- 
stant, and ordinarily quick. 

A person whose utterance is thick and coarse is 
malicious, cunning, and disdainful. 

A coarse voice indicates a robust physique, a 
great talker, quick-tempered, though conspicuously 
discreet. 

A piercing, fine or weak voice is indicative of 
timidity, cunning, and generally of quick wit. 

An attractive and clear voice expresses a man 
who is prudent, sincere, and ingenuous, but proud 
and incredulous; whereas a firm voice, without 
harshness, denotes a person who is robust, intelli- 
gent, circumspect, and benevolent. 

A man possessing a trembling and hesitating 
voice is timid, weak, vain, and sometimes jealous. 

A voice combining great sound and firmness in- 
dicates a man who is strong, audacious, rash, obsti- 
nate, and self-important. 

A sharp and rude voice, in singing as well as in 
conversation, denotes a coarse mind, inferior judg- 
ment, and strong appetites, 



PHYSIOGNOMY OP THE VOICE. 91 

A hoarse voice, seemingly the effect of a cold, 
signifies a person more sinrple than wise, credu- 
lous and untruthful, vain and inconstant. 

A full and sweet voice denotes a man who is 
peaceful, inclined to timidity, discreet and self- 
willed. 

A voice at first grave and then sharp and pierc- 
ing denotes the quick temper of an impetuous, arro- 
gant, and impudent man. 

A soft, sweet voice is found in a person of a 
peaceable, ingenious, penetrating, and subtile char- 
acter. 

Each passion has also a tone of voice which dis- 
tinguishes it. For example : Anger is expressed 
by a sharp, animated, and frequently interrupted 
voice. 

Fear, by a submissive, uncertain, and troubled 
voice. 

Indignation, by a hard, terrible, and impetuous 
tone. 

Grief, by a moaning, pitiful, and sobbing utter- 
ance. 

Love, by a sweet, tender voice, interrupted by 
sighs. 

There are likewise as many inflections of voice 
as there are shades of sentiment, all susceptible of 
combination, but the timbre is always in keeping 
with the character of each individual. 



92 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

Therefore, an enraged man has a blunt, unsteady 
voice, while a mild man is gifted with a voice 
analogous to his character. 

A serious and* pensive man speaks seldom, his 
tone is grave, his utterance being measured by the 
signification of his words. 

The thoughtless and inconstant person prattles 
unceasingly, and is continually changing his tone 
and theme of conversation. 

A man of bilious temperament utters his words 
briefly and rapidly ; the words of a man of nerv- 
ous temperament are sometimes uttered with ex- 
travagant rapidity. 

A phlegmatic person, on the contrary, expresses 
himself slowly and sometimes in a drawling tone. 

The voice accompanying the sanguine tempera- 
ment is clear, sonorous, light and petulant. 

Fine development of the vocal organs is usually 
found in a person of sound physical organization. 

The voice of a melancholy person is dry, sepul- 
chral, and deeply impressive. 

The naturally good man, for instance the phi- 
lanthropist, expresses himself in a sweet, enticing 
voice. The reverse is observed in a naturally bad 
man ; his voice is dry, harsh, and disagreeable. 

The presumptuous individual expresses himself 
in a boasting tone, is sarcastic and derisive ; always 
wishing to produce an effect and to eclipse others. 



PHYSIOGNOMY OF THE VOICE. \)6 

A modest man is simple and measured in his lan- 
guage. 

The hypocrite is always false ; under the mask 
of sincerity he seeks to entrap by his dangerous 
insinuations. 

The flatterer is known by his soft and honeyed 
speech, by the elastic yielding of his language, 
adapting it to all forms, and reflecting all shades 
of thought. 

An idiot emits a heavy, drawling sound, without 
any harmonious inflections. 

The man of genius is known by his quick and 
powerful accentuation. The enthusiasm which 
boils in his heart comes burning to his lips, and 
finds vent in his words ; his energetic and brilliant 
diction seizes and sways his hearers, and they are 
carried away by his eloquence. 

Man can, to a certain extent, apparently change 
his voice ; but, no matter how faithfully he may 
persevere, he never can effect a complete change. 
For instance, two persons, a man and woman, 
being constantly together, may assume the same 
intonation in ordinary conversation ; this will 
quickly disappear under the influence of anger or 
other strong emotions, and each will assume his or 
her timbre or peculiar tone of voice. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

RESPIRATION. 

Physiology teaches us that all animals live by 
the constant destruction and as constant renewal 
of their tissue, and that in order to remove the 
wasted products of destruction, certain excretory- 
organs are provided. The lungs are perhaps the 
most important of these, for by the acts of inspi- 
ration the oxygen necessary for carrying on the 
change is introduced, and the products of combus- 
tion, water, carbonic acid gas, etc., amounting in 
all to about one-half the waste of the system, are 
removed. 

By the contraction and expansion of the chest, 
and the arching or flattening of the diaphragm, 
the motions of which the lungs follow, a portion 
of the altered contents of the pulmonary reser- 
voirs is first expelled, and then a new supply of 
air introduced to undergo change in its turn, and 
as the lungs are never completely emptied, this 
change goes on constantly. 

The movements of respiration are divided into 



KESPIRATIOK. 



95 



two classes : 1st, those of inspiration, and 2d, 
those of expiration. 

By inspiration is meant the act of introducing 
air into the lungs; this is accomplished by the 
movements of the ribs from downward upward, 
from inward outward, and by the flattening of the 
diaphragm, a large muscle separating the cavity 
of the chest from that of the abdomen. It is di- 
vided into three stages: 1st, FlG 8 
the mechanical, which con- 
sists in the introduction of 
air into the trachea and the 
larger bronchi; 2d, the dif- 
fusion of gases among each, 
by which air is introduced in 
the capillary bronchi and air- 
cells, and the foul gases pass 
outward ; and 3d, the diffusion 
of gases through membranes, 
by which the oxygen reaches 
the blood, and carbonic acid 
gas and water are given off. 

An experimental illustra- 
tion of the manner in which 
the air is introduced into the 
cavity of the lungs by the 
descent of the floor of the chest, and then expelled 
by its elevation, is represented in Fig. 8, in which 




96 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

a a is a tube of glass half an inch or more in diam- 
eter, and six or eight inches long, to the lower end 
of which a bladder, b, is tightly attached. The 
tube is passed through the neck of a bell-jar, c c, 
air-tight. A large glass reservoir of water, filled 
to the height d d, receives the bell-jar, as shown 
in the figure. When the jar is depressed in the 
water the air is expelled from the bladder, and 
when the jar is raised the air flows in. By alter- 
nately elevating and depressing the bell, the blad- 
der executes movements like those of the lungs, 
of which, indeed, it is a representation ; the glass 
tube being the trachea, the bell-jar the walls of 
tiie chest, and the rising and falling water-level 
the rising and falling diaphragm. In this illus- 
tration the bladder is, of course, perfectly passive, 
as was at one time supposed to be the case with 
the lungs. The air introduced into the chest loses 
very rapidly the qualities which made it fit for 
inspiration. Some of its oxygen combines with 
the carbon of the tissues and forms carbonic acid. 
The cause of the circulation of the blood through 
the lungs — the pressure of oxygen in them — being 
absent, this circulation stops, and the second act 
of respiration, expiration, becomes an immediate 
necessity of existence. 

By expiration is meant the act of expelling the 
altered air from the lungs and air-passages, and is 



EESPIEATION. 97 

the exact reverse of inspiration. The stages are — 
1st, diffusion through membranes ; 2d, diffusion 
of gases amongst each other ; 3d, mechanical. It 
is produced by the lowering of the ribs and the 
rising of the diaphragm. 

In ordinary tranquil respiration, the contraction 
and dilatation of the chest is effected almost en- 
tirely by the diaphragm, aided by the elasticity of 
the muscles of the abdomen, the movements of the 
ribs being almost imperceptible ; but in the breath- 
ing necessary to singing or speaking, the walls of 
the thoracic cavity take an active part. Formed 
chiefly by the ribs, which are arched symmetri- 
cally between the vertebral column, or backbone, 
and the sternum, or breastbone, and movable on 
account of their cartilaginous union with those 
bones, they act on the lungs, by their elevation or 
depression, in the same manner as the sides of a 
bellows, and by their simultaneous movements 
produce a dilation or contraction of the thoracic 
cavity, and so fill or empty the lungs. On ac- 
count of the manner in which the intercostal 
muscles are attached, the movements of the ribs 
increase rapidly from the first to the last, so that 
the eleventh and twelfth have ten to eleven times 
the mobility of the second. 

The respiratory movements are partly volun- 
tary, partly involuntary. Partly voluntary in 



98 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

order that they may be subservient to the purposes 
of singing, speaking, or the necessities of such 
labor as produces a rapid destruction of the tis- 
sues of the system, and demands as rapid a re- 
moval ; partly involuntary, lest in sleep, or in a 
moment of forgetful ness, the movements of respi- 
ration should be suspended, and fatal consequences 
ensue. 

The capacity of the chest varies greatly in dif- 
ferent individuals, and bears a constant relation to 
the height of the individual. But the size of the 
chest is no criterion as to the capacity for inspira- 
tion or expiration, which is the only accurate 
method of determining the development of the 
lungs. On an average, some 16 or 17 inspiratory 
movements occur in a minute, and in an adult of 
average size, we may assume, according to the ex- 
periments of Mr. Coathupe, that about 266J- cubic 
feet or 460,224 cubic inches of air pass through 
the lungs in 24 hours. Beckoning the average 
number of expirations at 16 per minute, this 
would give about 20 cubic inches of air expired at 
each. The experiments of Dr. Draper, which were 
conducted with great care, and from which the er- 
ror of time was eliminated, each experiment being 
carried on for 20 minutes, give 16 as the number 
of inspirations per minute, and 38.8 cubic inches 
of air as the average inspiration ; — the least 



RESPIRATION. 99 

amount sufficing for the wants of the system, 511 
cubic inches, the greatest capacity of lungs, 1077 
cubic inches ; and that the amount of air intro- 
duced depends for the most part on the rapidity of 
respiration. 

Several circumstances may modify the capacity 
of the chest and diminish the quantity of inspired 
air. Tightly fitting clothes may so oppose the di- 
latation of the chest that a woman who, when 
laced up, can only respire 90 cubic inches of air, 
respires 170 when freed from the corset. 

The capacity of the lung diminishes also in pro- 
portion to the flattening of the body. It is less 
also in disease than in health. 

" Besides the movements of exj:>ansion and con- 
traction described above, belonging to the chest, 
there are similar respiratory movements taking 
place in the larynx. While respiration is going 
on there is a constant and regular movement of 
the vocal cords synchronous with the inspiratory 
and expiratory movements of the chest, by which 
the size of the glottis is alternately enlarged and 
diminished. At every respiration the glottis 
opens and allows the air to pass freely into the 
trachea ; at every expiration it collapses and the 
air is driven out through it from below. These 
movements are called the ' respiratory movements 
of the glottis.' They correspond in every respect 



100 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

with those of the chest, and are excited or retarded 
by similar causes." (Dalton, p. 24:0.) 

During inspiration the tongue and os hyoid are 
thrown backward, the epiglottis straightens from 
behind forward, the larynx descends, the lips of 
the glottis are carried outward by the separation 
of the arytenoid cartilage, and the trachea is 
shortened and widened. During expiration the 
reverse of all these movements takes place ; the 
tongue and hyoid bone being carried forward, 
the larynx ascending and narrowing, the lips of 
the glottis approximating, and the trachea narrow- 
ing and lengthening. 

The peculiar art of speakers, and of singers es- 
pecially, consists in a great measure in the proper 
management of the respiratory apparatus. If we 
abandon ourselves to instinct, we all respire 
equally well. 

Respiration is not then a thing to be learned, 
but when the will intervenes, as in singing or 
speech, it may happen that one of those means 
may be exaggerated to the prejudice of another ; 
in such a case we should strive to return to the 
normal type of breathing, or at least to use that 
type which is best suited to produce the desired 
effect. The names of costal, diaphragmatic, and 
ventral respiration, are just so many distinctions 
which puzzle both singer and speaker ; the truth 



RESPIRATION. 101 

being that to respire well and naturally, the ribs, 
diaphragm, and abdominal muscles must each do 
its appropriate work, and as Dr. Fournie justly 
observes, " he who respires exclusively by one or 
the other of these alone, must be a sick man." 

Many of the faults of the singer or speaker are 
imputed to weakness of the voice, when, in fact, 
they are caused by a bad method of breathing — 
the singer either not taking breath at the right 
time, or not often enough, or not long enough. 
Some contract the muscles of the body so power* 
fully that they disturb the action of the respi- 
ratory muscles. Is it at all surprising, when the 
singer attempts to move so many muscles at the 
same time, that one set should act but imper- 
fectly ? This person cannot recite or sing for even 
a few moments without his mouth and throat be- 
coming dry and irritated ; it is, possibly, because 
he does not breathe methodically. That one de- 
sires to utter a voluminous sound, and fails miser- 
ably, because he has not filled his lungs sufficiently. 
Another, in order to breathe, presses with all his 
force uj3on the floor, contracts as far as he is able, 
the muscles of his extremities, and thus attempts 
to impart energy to his voice ; the result, com- 
monly, is the opposite of the one sought. Let the 
singer or speaker breathe naturally, and abstain 
from all unnecessary and injurious efforts, which 



102 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

only disturb those parts which carry on respira- 
tion. 

In singing, especially, a skilful use of the respi- 
ratory apparatus is demanded ; it does not consist 
in the use of any one j>articular method of breath- 
ing, but the singer should study, — 1st, to develop 
a natural respiration — 2d, to learn above all to 
respire in a manner best suited to produce the de- 
sired effect — and 3d, to fill the lungs as completely 
as possible at each inspiration ; for if the lungs be 
but partially filled each time, it will necessitate a 
frequent repetition of the respiratory movements, 
which will interrupt the singing in a very disagree- 
able manner, and render it anything but pleasant. 

When after an ordinary expiration the ribs 
have been lowered and the diaphragm has re- 
turned to its normal situation, there yet remains a 
little air in the lungs which allows of a still 
further prolongation of the expiration. To pro- 
duce this prolonged expiration the abdominal mus- 
cles are called into action. They effect it by com- 
pressing the anterior and lateral walls of the ab- 
dominal cavity, diminishing its diameter, and so 
pushing up the organs contained in it toward the 
thoracic cavity, forcing up the diaphragm, and 
thus expelling almost completely the air contained 
in the lungs. It is to this method of respiration 
that the name of abdominal has been given. 



RESPIRATION. 103 

The voice may be greatly modified and im- 
proved by the natural or acquired possession of a 
prolonged inspiration and a methodic expiration. 
This consists in a deep inspiration, which will fill 
the lungs to their greatest capacity, taking the pre- 
caution of not aspirating when breathing. 

In the execution of a piece of music, the inspira- 
tions, always deep, must be slow or fast, according 
to the character of the music and the manner in 
which its phrases are divided. Thus during the 
rest or the half rest, the inspiration may be slow, 
while in a musical phrase divided by semi-quaver 
or demi-semi-quaver rests, it must take place rap- 
idly. In all cases, however, it is necessary to be 
guided in the depth of the inspiration by the 
length of the musical jDhrase to be emitted, in order 
to have a sufficient quantity of air to produce per- 
fectly each note, and to avoid exhausting the lungs 
completely of air before the musical phrase is 
ended, or a rest of some kind is reached that will 
allow of a new inspiration. It is even necessary 
that a certain amount of air is always held in re- 
serve in the lungs after the execution of each pe- 
riod; in this way the final note will always be 
given with greater precision, and the voice will be 
much more sonorous. It is by the application of 
these principles that great artists give to the voice 
an extraordinary range, and succeed in renewing 



104 HYGIENE OF THE YOICE. 

the air in the lungs at certain points of very long 
passages. Habit and taste will alone enable one 
to determine the precise moment, when without in- 
jury to the musical effect, and sometimes without 
its being even perceived, that inspiration may be 
effected. 



CHAPTER IX. 

ALIMENTATION. 

To live, it is necessary not only to have received 
life, but also to maintain it. The condition upon 
which nature has given man life is, that he shall 
repair the waste of its force, by means of the ma- 
terials which she gives him for that purpose, to 
convert into his own substance. It is not enough 
to live, but to fulfil our part we must live long, 
and enjoy good health ; to do this, we must have a 
sufficiency of well-chosen aliments — in other words, 
man lives only by a constant destruction and as 
constant a reparation of his tissues. We have seen 
that fully one-half this waste or burning of the 
body is accomplished by the air introduced into 
the lungs, consequently the greater the amount of 
air respired the greater the waste. No one can 
sing much or read much without a great increase 
in the waste, which can only be repaired by food, 
to form new tissue. Thus we see that the stomach 
is almost as essential to singing and reading as the 
larynx or lungs. 

"There is amongst singers," says Mr. Segond, 



106 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

"a prejudice concerning alimentation. A great 
many of them expect to find in a frugal diet a sure 
guarantee against the alterations of the voice, but 
when the singer perceives that in breathing he 
burns his own substance, and that the reparation 
is made by alimentation only, he will understand 
that breathing much more than the man who does 
not sing, he must repair his enormous losses by a 
diet of the most nutritious character. Then and 
" then only " living in a perfect equilibrium he 
will preserve his voice in its strength and compass, 
and no longer be exposed to the numerous and 
severe disorders of the vocal apparatus which de- 
velop themselves so quickly in an exhausted or- 
ganism. 

We have seen that an adult in good health 
makes on an average 17 inspirations in a minute, 
and inhales from 17 to 20 cubic inches of air in 
each inspiration, that is from 10 to 12 cubic feet 
per hour, or from 240 to 280 cubic feet in 24 hours. 
Yet these amounts, enormous as they seem, are far 
less than those required for the respiration of the 
singer. Unable to deliver long musical phrases 
without respiring deeply, he accustoms his lungs 
to contain the greatest possible quantity of air. 

Dr. Draper's experiments upon respiration are 
of importance in this connection. His result may 
be thus tabulated. 



ALIMENTATION. 107 

No. of Respirations No. of Cubic Inches 

per minute. per minute. 

6 Least amount sufficing for the wants 

of the system, . . .511 

16 Average demand, . . .622 

33 Utmost extent of respiratory system, 1077 

From which he concludes : 

1st. Amount of air in each normal respiration is 
38.8 cubic inches, the number of respiratory acts 
being 16 per minute. 

2d. The amount of air introduced into the sys- 
tem depends for the most part upon the rapidity 
with which respiration is carried on. 

From this we conclude that the ordinary quan- 
tity expired by the singer when vocalizing — even 
if he makes but 10 respirations per minute — can- 
not be less than 800 cubic inches per minute. 
Here we have 3 times the amount of air respired 
normally, and heoce in no other physiological state 
have we the respiration so much exaggerated as in 
siuging. 

The oxygen which was introduced into the 
economy by the act of respiration, has in a great 
measure been converted into carbonic acid by the 
chemical changes taking place in the body, and is 
expired in this form. 

The carbonic acid gas expired varies with the 



108 HYGIENE OP THE VOICE. 

age, constitution, food, state of health, hour of the 
day, <fcc. 

For each 100 volumes of air inspired, from 3 as 
a minimum to 5 as a maximum of carbonic acid 
gas are expired. The quantity of carbonic acid 
exjDired is greater in those who make use of the 
voice much than in those who employ it but little. 

How is the singer to make up the great waste 
which his body undergoes ? By alimentation only. 

Among the innumerable articles of food capable 
of satisfying the wants, and gratifying the palate 
of man, some, born directly from the earth, or pro- 
duced by animals, can be consumed immediately — 
fruits, milk, are examples of this class. Others, 
before being employed, require to be submitted to 
the action of fire, and to more or less varied culi- 
nary preparation. This class includes the flesh of 
animals, and the great majority of vegetables. 
The first may be beneficial or hurtful, either by 
their intrinsic properties or by some property ac- 
quired, or insufficiency or want of development of 
the fruit. The second class may also be useful or 
injurious to the human economy, for the same rea- 
son, namely — their own nature, natural modifica- 
tions, or modifications which man causes in them. 
A plum, however good it may be, is less salutary 
than a pear ; green grajDes are injurious, while 
ripe grapes are healthful ; mutton is, as a rule, more 



ALIMENTATION. 109 

easily digested than pork ; the flesh of an over- 
worked ox less digestible than that of a steer 
which has been prepared for the market ; and any 
aliment properly prepared and cooked, is more 
beneficial than one in which the necessary culinary 
operations have been neglected. 

That the good or evil effect of a substance 
used as food does not depend altogether upon the 
intrinsic properties of the aliment, or upon the 
changes impressed upon it by the hands of man, 
will be evident upon a slight examination. Its 
effects upon the system are dependent, in a great 
measure, upon the modifications it undergoes in 
the digestive tract, and it is in the inability of the 
digestive organs to modify the aliments, that we 
are to find out one of the most prolific sources of 
gastric disease. The first of these causes would 
depend upon the condition of the digestive organs 
themselves — whether healthy or diseased, at the 
moment the aliments are placed in contact with 
them ; the second class of causes are dependent 
upon the state of the food itself, at the same mo- 
ment. If through deficiency of teeth, or inability 
in the lower jaw to execute the movements neces- 
sary to mastication, or from the habit of hurrying 
through the meal, the aliments are improperly 
masticated ; or if, from disease, the salivary glands 
cannot pour out the juices which nature designed 



110 HYGIENE OP THE VOICE. 

to be mingled with the food before its introduction 
into the stomach, it is evident that there will be 
more or less difficulty of digestion, though the food 
be perfectly suitable, and well prepared. This 
state of affairs will be evidenced by a feeling of 
fulness and nausea, or by eructations. 

The condition of the stomach at the time of in- 
gestion must also be taken into consideration. It 
may not be well disposed to receive food, on 
account of some gastric trouble, or of a threatened 
inflammation, or of impairment of nervous power, 
brought on by too long continued mental strain, 
or by some moral influence, pleasant or otherwise. 
The aliments themselves, in such conditions, also 
exert a great influence, according to the portion of 
the digestive tract in which they are chiefly acted 
upon — one being digested easily, while another, if 
not at once rejected, produces severe digestive dis- 
turbance. Thus, black meats are digested almost 
entirely in the stomach ; while vegetables, or fatty 
substances, are acted upon in the intestines. It is 
well, therefore, in such cases as those mentioned, 
to adapt the food to the condition of the organs, 
and to advise those aliments which would enable 
diseased parts to remain as quiescent as possible, 
and thus afford them a chance to recover their 
strength. 

The constitution, sex, age, the genei'al condition 



ALIMENTATION. Ill 

of the health, and the occupation, have a great in- 
fluence in determining what kind of aliments shall 
be chosen, and what effects will be produced upon 
the system. Thus, a man of vigorous constitution, 
with a well-developed muscular system, and whose 
avocation demands a moderate amount of physical 
exertion, may indulge with impunity in a thousand 
excesses of diet, the least of which might be suffi- 
cient to hurry to the grave his neighbor, a pale, 
weak, melancholy young man. This difference in 
the quality of food, because of disparity of physi- 
cal development, accounts in a great measure for 
the difference exhibited by men and women in the 
choice of their aliments, and why women in a state 
of pregnancy, or persons exhausted by chronic dis- 
ease, possess such infinitely fanciful appetites. It 
is for the same reason that some are rendered quite 
ill by a slice of melon, or a j)ork chop, which would 
be readily digested by the stomach of another. 

Two other prominent causes which influence 
both our choice of alimentary substances, and the 
greater or less facility with which they become 
identified with the substance proper of the body, 
are climate and season. See the difference in the 
diet of an Esquimaux and that of an inhabitant of 
the tropics — the one devouring fats, oils, etc., with 
avidity, while the other lives almost exclusively 
upon fruits and farinaceous substances. We may 



112 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

come even nearer home — take ourselves as an ex- 
ample of the effect of season. With what a relish, 
during the winter, do we sit down to a substantial 
meal ! The stomach receives, with avidity, animal 
food, fat, and other dishes of a like substantial 
nature ; but when the heat of summer comes, do 
we not all know that the appetite languishes, and 
that dishes which, in the cold season, were eagerly 
waited for, possess now no relish ? We eat slowly, 
and but little ; and instead of meats, seek eagerly 
cooling and refreshing fruits and vegetables. 

The hour at which we enjoy the pleasures of the 
table exerts a far greater influence than is ordina- 
rily supposed upon the process of digestion. The 
ancients, who understood thoroughly the science 
of gastronomy, were in the habit of consecrating 
the end of the day to the reparation of the corpo- 
real forces, and the joyous effusions inspired by 
the repast. It seems, indeed, as if, at that hour of 
silence and peace, there is spread over the whole 
nature a happy calm, which ought not to disturb 
in any way the important mystery of the daily 
resurrection, which we are about to intrust to its 
benignant influence. At that hour, the air is re- 
freshed by the absence of the sun, and the rising 
of a temperate breeze ; the forces of the economy, 
employed during the day in the secretion of an 
abundant perspiration, experience a beneficial 



ALIMENTATION. 113 

diversion in being directed to the performance of 
the digestive functions; professional labor has 
ceased, and man, enchanted at being enabled to 
rest from his cares, finds in the satisfaction of 
an imperious need, new sources of illusion and 
peace. 

We, living under a sky not so pure, a climate 
less mild, and fettered by a different social system, 
and a much more complicated civilization, are not 
enabled to choose that hour for our principal meal, 
and should favor as much as is in our power, an 
early dinner. Fashion has decided, and who shall 
deny her sway, that all places of amusement shall 
be opened in the evening ; that we shall visit or 
receive our friends in the evening. The conse- 
quence is, if we dine late, we must hurry through 
our meal in order that we may be ready ; the food 
is driven to the stomach with such frightful rapid- 
ity that it scarce scrapes acquaintance with the 
teeth or salivary juices, and imperfect digestion 
follows, as a necessary consequent. What matter f 
We enjoy ourselves, but toe forget to live. — Bkouc. 

Modern chemists divide all substances fit for 
food into two classes. 

1st. The nitrogenized or nutritious substances, 
also called Histogenetic, since they are employed 
in nourishing all the tissues of the body to a 
greater or less degree : they are, 



114 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

Albumen (white of egg is the purest form ; also 
in blood). 

Fibrin (flesh and blood of animals). 

Gluten (or vegetable fibrin, obtained from any 
plant or from washing flour, till the water is no 
longer whitened). 

Casein (the curd of milk, material forming 
cheese) . 

2d. The non-nitrogenized or respiratory sub- 
stances. 

They are subdivided into two classes. 

1st. The hydro-carbons, such as butter, fat, and 
all oily bodies containing an enormous amount of 
carbon and hydrogen and but little oxygen. 

2d. The carbo-hydrates (so called from the hy- 
drogen and oxygen existing in the proportions to 
form water) such as : sugar, starch, gum, and simi- 
lar substances. 

To these we may add beer, wine, etc. 

These are the substances to which the singer 
must principally resort for the reparation of the 
loss he has sustained from his forced respiration. 

It would be well also for the singer or speaker 
to abstain from using the voice for a few hours 
after eating, since when the stomach is distended 
by food the increased size of that organ prevents 
in a measure the lowering of the diaphragm, and, 
therefore, the respiratory functions are not carried 



ALIMENTATION. 115 

on as well, the least effort becomes painful and 
fatiguing, and the voice itself is heavy. 

The singer will then avoid practising during 
digestion for three reasons : 

1st. He would sing out of tune. 

2d. He, by continued practice, would probably 
become dyspeptic. 

3d. He might produce grave disorders of the 
circulation. 

It is difficult to determine exactly the interval 
which should intervene between the end of a meal 
and the beginning of vocal exercise ; it varies ac- 
cording to the power of digestion of the individ- 
ual, and especially according to the quantity and 
kind of aliments taken. 

As a general rule, it will be prudent and in ac- 
cordance with hygienic laws not to sing for at 
least two hours after the principal meals. 

According to Dr. Beaumont, the average time 
required for digestion varies from 1 to 5 J hours, 
depending upon the kind of food employed. 

The following table giving the time necessary 
for the digestion of various articles of food, shows 
that the method of cooking also influences the rate 
of digestion. 



116 



HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 



Table 



the Time required for the Digestion of 
various Alimentary Substances. 



Apples, sweet, mellow, raw. 1 30 

" sour, " " 2 00 

" " hard, " 2 50 

Bass, striped, fresh, broiled.. 3 00 

Beans, pod, boiled 2 30 

Beef, fresh, lean, rare, roast- 
ed 3 00 

Beef, fresh, lean, dry, roasted 3 30 
*' with mustard, etc. , boil- 
ed 3 10 

Beef, with salt only, boiled. . 3 36 

" fried 4 00 

Beefsteak, broiled 3 00 

Beets, boiled 3 45 

Brains, animal, boiled 1 45 

Bread, corn, baked 3 15 

" wheat, fresh, baked.. 3 30 

Cabbage, head, raw 2 30 

" " with vinegar, 

raw 2 00 

Cabbage, head, boiled 4 30 

Carrot, orange, boiled 3 13 

Cartilage, boiled 4 15 

Catfish, fresh, fried. 3 30 

Cheese, old, strong, raw 3 30 

Codfish, cured dry, boiled. . . 2 00 

Custard, baked , 2 45 

Ducks, domesticated, roasted. 4 00 
" wild, " . 4 30 

Eggs, fresh, raw 5 . ... 2 00 

" u whipped..,,,,,, 1 30 



Eggs, fresh, roasted 2 15 

" " soft-boiled 3 00 

u " hard-boiled 3 30 

" " fried 3 30 

Flounder, fresh, fried 3 30 

Fowls, full-grown, fricasseed. 2 45 

" domestic, boiled 4 00 

" " roasted 4 00 

Gelatine, boiled 2 30 

Goose, wild, roasted 2 30 

Green corn and beans, boil- 
ed 3 45 

Hash, meat and vegetables, 

warmed 2 30 

Heart, animal, fried 4 00 

Lamb, fresh, broiled 2 30 

Liver, beef's, fresh, broiled ..200 

Milk, boiled 2 00 

" raw 2 15 

Mutton, fresh, broiled 3 00 

" " boiled 3 00 

" " roasted 3 15 

Oysters, fresh, raw.. . 2 55 

" " roasted 3 15 

" " stewed 3 30 

Pig, sucking, roasted 2 30 

Pig's feet, soused, boiled 1 00 

Pork, steak, broiled 3 15 

" fat and loan, roasted.. 5 15 

" recently salted, raw .. . 3 00 

" " stewed. 3 00 



ALIMENTATION. 



117 



Pork, recently salted, broiled. 3 15 

fried . . 4 15 

«« " boiled.. 4 30 

Parsnips, boiled 2 30 

Potatoes, Irish, roasted 2 30 

" baked 2 30 

" " boiled 3 30 

Salmon, salted, boiled 4 00 

Soup, barley 1 30 

" bean 3 00 

" chicken 3 00 

" mutton 3 30 

" oyster 3 30 



Soup, beef, vegetable and 

bread. . , 4 00 

Sausage, fresh, broiled 3 20 

Trout, salmon, fresh, boiled. 1 30 
" " " fried.. 1 30 

Turkey, wild, roasted 2 18 

" domesticated, boiled 2 25 
" " roasted 2 30 

Tripe, soused, boiled 1 00 

Turnips, flat, " 3 30 

Venison, steak, broiled 1 35 

Veal, fresh, " 4 00 

" " fried 4 30 



Hence the singer should distribute his hours of 
practice according to his meals, or reciprocally if 
he is obliged to sing at given hours. 

Although there would generally be no harm 
done by eating immediately after singing, since 
the aliments taken tend to repair the waste of the 
system, yet it is better to allow the body to rest 
for a short time, until the artificial congestion of 
the vocal apparatus brought on by singing shall 
have passed away entirely, since the heat of the 
food and the excitant articles, such as pepper, 
mustard, etc., used with it might become in this 
congested condition so many causes of inflamma- 
tion of the tissues of the pharynx. 

Thus we see that to sin£ well, the digestive 
must be in harmony with both the respiratory 



118 HYGrlENE OF THE VOICE. 

and the vocal organs ; therefore, the singer should 
take particular care that the stomach performs its 
functions well, for as long as he digests well, he 
can sing with impunity, but, if the stomach fails 
to do its duty, and he still persists in tasking his 
lungs, he burns his own substance without having 
any means of repairing the waste, and this, if con- 
tinued in, will lead him to an early grave. 



CHAPTER X. 

SLEEP. 

For the regeneration of the physical forces, 
sleep is as necessary as food. Cervantes enthusi- 
astically says : " Now blessings light on him that 
first invented sleep. It covers a man all over, 
thoughts and all, like a cloak ; it is meat for the 
hungry, drink for the thirsty ; heat for the cold, 
and cold for the hot." 

Vocal exercises are not solely material, they in- 
fluence both mind and matter. The artist not only 
fatigues his respiratory organs, but is wearied also 
emotionally by the passions he depicts. The ex- 
haustion of an organ is in proportion to the inten- 
sity of its exertion — this is a law of the animal 
economy. 

Sleep is rest in its most perfect form ; a rest which 
the nerve-cells as well as the muscular fibre requires. 

Of the mental phenomena, Spurzheim says : 
"The states of watching, sleeping, and dreaming, 
prove the manifestations of the mind dependent 
on organizations; for corporeal organs can alone 
be fatigued and exhausted." Mental operations 



120 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

cannot be continued incessantly, rest is indispen- 
sable, and a regular recurrence of that inactive 
state of the mind, called sleep, is necessary to en- 
able the mental faculties to display their perfect 
energies. Dreams are usually the result of certain 
material causes, and they conform to the age and 
organic constitution of the dreamer. The invari- 
able dependence of the dreams on the bodily con- 
dition has been verified by an infinite number of 
observations, proving that the mental manifesta- 
tions depend on the organization. 

That " sleep is the image of death " is purely 
metaphorical, for during sleep we are simply 
unconscious of existence ; the heart does not cease 
to beat, the lungs do not cease to dilate, and the 
nutritive and secretory functions still continue to 
act. The inspirations, are, however slower, the 
pulsations are not so frequent, nutrition is dimin- 
ished, the secretions lessened, and the animal tem- 
perature is sensibly lowered. 

Certain conditions are necessary in order that 
sleep may benefit the organism. It must be calm 
and continuous. For the adult it should last seven 
or eight hours ; if the time is too short it makes him 
nervous, if too long it renders the organism heavy. 
This is illustrated by the well-known couplet : 

Seven hours to law, to soothing slumber seven ; 
Ten to the world allot, and all to Heaven." 



SLEEP 121 

Day sleep is not as salutary as night sleep. 
Man follows the influence which the rotation of the 
earth impresses upon all that lives on its surface. 
He should go to sleep and wake up with nature. 

The sleeping apartment should be well aired, 
that it may furnish an ample supply of oxygen 
for respiratory consumption. Coverings too 
heavy and too soft a bed render sleep heavy, and 
deprive it of its regenerating power. 

Lord Bacon says, in his chapter on the "Regi- 
ment of Health," that " To be free-minded and 
cheerfully disposed at hours of meat, and of sleep, 
and of exercise, is one of the best precepts of long- 
lasting. . . . Celsus could never have spoken 
it as a physician had he not been a wise man 
withal, when he giveth it for one of the greatest 
precepts of health and lasting; that a man do 
vary and interchange contraries, but with an incli- 
nation to the more benign extreme. Use fasting 
and full-eating, but rather full-eating ; watching 
and sleep, but rather sleep ; sitting and exercise, 
but rather exercise ; and the like." 

In the Thang-Seng, a Chinese treatise, " How to 
live well and live long," written by a physician of 
the seventeenth century, we read the following : 
Before going to bed, rinse the mouth with water 
or lukewarm tea, and cleanse the teeth with a soft 
and flexible brush. 
6 



122 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

The middle of the sole of the foot is like the 
issue of the spirits spread in the whole body. 
Here is on this score a salutary practice : when 
you are undressed and ready for bed, take one of 
your feet in one hand, and with the other rub the 
sole of it with force as long as you can ; cease 
only when you feel a great heat, then move sepa- 
rately each toe until you are tired ; it is an effica- 
cious way of resting the vital and animal spirits. # 

Lay on the left side, or the right, bend the knees 
a little, and go to sleep in that position. This 
will prevent the vital and animal spirits from leav- 
ing you ; it will, besides, keep the heart in a good 
state. 

In sleeping, do not take the attitude of a dead 
man, that is to say, do not lie on your back, or let 
your hands rest on the chest or the heart. 

Every time you wake up stretch yourself in bed, 
it makes the blood circulate more freely. Imme- 
diately on awaking make with the hand several 
frictions on the chest, in the region of the heart, 
for fear that, leaving the bed quite warm, the 
coolness should surprise all at once and close sud- 
denly the pores of the body, which would cause 
colds and other inconveniences, while a few fric- 
tions with the palm of the hand will put the blood 
in motion at its source and prevent accidents. 

As soon as you get into bed you must put the 



SLEEP. 123 

heart to sleep, if possible, that is to say, tranquil- 
lize it and throw off every thought that might 
cause sleeplessness." 

The necessity of tranquillity was well illus- 
trated by Kant, who paid great attention to what- 
ever could affect his physical life. It was a prin- 
ciple with him " to withdraw his mind from every- 
thing requiring effort fifteen minutes before he 
went to bed." His theory, which is fully confirmed 
by the experience of others, was that there was a 
risk of missing sleep if the brain was not tran- 
quillized before bed-time. He knew that the intel- 
lectual life of the day depended on the night's 
rest, and he took the precaution to secure it. 

Byron also tells us in the " Spectator " that " our 
happiness or misery depends much upon the imag- 
ination, and that to secure rest and quiet in this 
respect there is but one maxim to be observed, 
viz. : l To go to bed with a mind entirely free 
from passion, and a body clear of the least intem- 
perance.' " 

Sleep is one of the greatest blessings bestowed 
upon mankind. But this does not uphold the 
sluggard, for too much sleep is quite as injurious 
as too little. But we cannot follow a better or 
wiser example than that which nature has given 
us. In all things her works are perfected, and 
we, toiling upon the surface of the earth, having 



i 



124 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

daily duties and responsibilities, stand in as great 
need of rest as nature herself. 

Sleep is the gentle restorer of health. It is na- 
ture's medicine. If offered to you, do not refuse 
it ; rather court it, if inclined to be fitful. In 
health sleep perfects it and makes it more lasting ; 
to the sick and the weary-hearted it is the one 
thing that makes life endurable from day to day. 
It is the only natural means by which man can 
obtain a few hours of oblivion. 

But in all .things moderation ; even in sleep. 
Let it be calm and restful, not too prolonged ; in 
a word, sufficient. It has been said with truth : 
"If we take rest while we require it, we shall not 
need the grave's rest quite so* soon." 



CHAPTER XL 

PPwESERVATION" OF THE VOICE. 

The irresistible charm which accompanies sing- 
ing, attests the great advantages and happiness 
which those who cultivate it may derive from it. 
The seducing power of a fine voice, whether a gift 
of nature or the happy effect of well-applied art, 
captivates, whatever may be the origin, age, or 
social relation of the possessor. Apart from its 
salutary influence upon the mind, singing serves 
eminently to develop and strengthen the vocal and 
respiratory organs, while the animal economy ex- 
periences the beneficial results obtained from an 
exercise full of charm and beauty. 

During the action of singing the lungs acquire 
a rapid development and are rendered less liable 
to disease. Hence the researches of physiologists 
have established the fact that exercising the voice 
is a great preventive of the development of pul- 
monary consumption. 

But, although moderate exercise in singing is 
beneficial on account of the increased action of the 



126 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

pulmonary system, yet its excessive exercise is 
very injurious. 

The act of singing, if long continued, ordinarily 
produces an artificial congestion of the bronchial 
tubes, the larynx, the pharynx, and the isthmus 
of the throat. The parts thus congested, if ex- 
posed to a low temperature, inflame readily, and a 
great number of the sore throats and bronchial 
troubles met with are developed under these con- 
ditions. The precept of never exposing ourselves 
to cold or damp air immediately after any exercise 
in which the vocal organs have been violently 
exercised is of great importance. The world- 
known hoarseness of singers is proverbial, and if 
sometimes it is an excuse, too often it is a reality. 
During the prevalence of cold weather, it is only 
necessary to sing for a few minutes, and then ex- 
pose ourselves immediately to the cold air to con- 
tract that hoarseness. These remarks do not ap- 
ply to the singer alone ; the attorney after his 
pleading, the professor after his lecture, the 
preacher after his sermon, in short all persons who 
for a certain time have to speak warmly and ear- 
nestly, will have to take the same precautions, in 
order to avoid the trouble we have mentioned. 

Lyric or dramatic artists who are compelled on 
account of their profession, to remain during a 
greater or less period of time with portions of the 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 127 

body uncovered, may by certain precautions dimin- 
ish in a great measure the injurious effects of cold. 
Thus, instead of remaining near a good fire until 
the moment before ajDpearing on the stage, they 
should just warm themselves and then try to keep 
up that artificial warmth by some moderate exer- 
cise, such as walking up and down the room. 
They should also accustom those parts of the body 
that are to be uncovered, to bear exposure to the 
cold by wearing but a moderate amount of cloth- 
ing, so that they will be less sensitive when ex- 
posed. It is true, there often exists in artists a 
physiological condition which enables them during 
the time they are actively engaged in their pro- 
fessional labors, to brave, with greater or less im- 
punity, this exposure. This condition is depend- 
ent chiefly upon the state of their nervous and cir- 
culatory systems at the time ; excited by their 
theme, sustained by the sympathies of the public, 
and animated by a desire to satisfy them, they are 
no longer ordinary mortals, to be overpowered by 
every exterior agent. In vain, draughts of cold 
air play upon naked shoulders, or lightly-clad 
bodies ; the great excitement under which the sys- 
tem is laboring is far stronger than the foe which 
seeks to overwhelm it ; the great amount of heat 
developed in the body effectually prevents the 
action of the exterior cold; the brain is so occu- 



128 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

piecl with the scenes which the artist represents, 
that all influences which ordinarily would produce 
an impression upon the periphery of the body, are 
now powerless. This condition of excitement gen- 
erally lasts for some time after the cause which 
has produced it has disappeared. But in the same 
degree as the artist was before unimpressionable, so, 
after this excitement has passed away, do external 
causes affect him. A reaction takes place in the 
organism, which, unless the artist be very vigilant, 
and protect himself well against the influence of 
the surrounding atmosphere, may have a pernicious 
influence upon him. 

Loud and animated conversations are also inju- 
rious. Many of our great artists, when they are 
about to sing, abstain entirely from conversation, 
and remain for hours together in the most absolute 
silence. 

Whispering is still more injurious than speak- 
ing. In this country, where almost every one who 
sings belongs to a church choir, we cannot con- 
demn too strongly the practice of whispering be- 
tween the selections. Were the singers to remain 
perfectly silent, there would be not only a great 
deal less of the disagreeable hemming so common 
at the beginning of each piece, but much better 
singing. 

Immoderate or loud laughter should also be 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 129 

avoided, for the practice, if continued, will in a 
short time produce a great weariness of the larynx, 
and dryness of the throat. There is a] so during 
this act a spasmodic tension of the vocal cords, 
which, when the laughter is prolonged, brings on 
a very painful feeling of strangulation. 

Singing long continued causes a momentary con- 
gestion, which many strive to relieve by the use of 
iced or very cold water. 

In certain conditions of the economy, the most 
serious consequences have followed the ingestion 
of cold or iced drinks, and writers of all ages have 
called attention to its danger during the hot 
weather. 

It is upon the nervous, respiratory, and diges- 
tive systems that the iced fluids seem to exert their 
greatest influence. Hemoptysis, pleurisy, and 
pneumonia have had their origin in the use of ice- 
water, while numbers of the cases of gastritis, dys- 
entery, and cholera-morbus, occurring during the 
summer months, can be traced to the same cause. 
Oftentimes the immoderate drinking of very cold 
water is the only reason that can be assigned for 
sudden attacks of dropsy in persons previously in 
perfect health. Boerhaave and Van Swieten had 
recognized the fact. 

If the cold beverage is drunk in small quanti- 
ties, with sufficient intervals intervening, the evil 



130 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

consequences are avoided, probably because the 
amount of heat abstracted is comparatively slight, 
and the body can therefore easily recover its nor- 
mal temperature. Dogs, when exhausted by heat 
and running, experience no ill effects from lapping 
up water at the first brook they meet, for this pro- 
cess of drinking is a slow one, and does not sud- 
denly lower the animal's temperature. On the 
other hand, we often see the ill effect of allowing 
horses to drink while they are in a state of great 
perspiration. 

The relatively small number of accidents occur- 
ring at our social reunions, where ice-cream is con- 
sumed, is explained by the slowness with which it 
is eaten ; and yet many affections of which the 
cause is a mystery probably arise from the use of 
creams and ices, which should be taken with the 
meal and not at the end of it or a short time after, 
when they interfere with digestion. 

When we studied the structure and movements 
of the vocal organs, we found that during respira- 
tion the greatest movement takes place at the base 
of the chest, and since the thoracic walls must act 
with ease and rapidity in order to sing or speak 
well, this portion of the chest must have perfect 
liberty of motion. Beware, ladies, lest in your 
sacrifices to the goddess of fashion, you make your 
waist so small that you diminish the range and 



PRESEBVATION OF THE VOICE. 131 

power of your voice, and thus sacrifice one of the 
most precious advantages to one of the most fool- 
ish and frivolous. If a tightly-laced waist, in 
the ordinary routine of daily life, when no great 
exertion of the lungs is called for, is both danger- 
ous and inconvenient, since it interferes with the 
pulmonary and abdominal circulation, how much 
more so must it be when the wearer attempts to 
recite or sing. It is evident that every time an 
effort is made to inspire suddenly or deeply, or in 
singing to expel economically the air contained in 
the lungs, there will be found in too tight a corset 
or dress a great obstacle to the accomplishment of 
these two movements. 

In the deep and sudden inspiration the corset 
will necessarily resist, and the singer will not be 
able to introduce into her lungs the necessary 
amount of air : on the contrary, in the expiratory 
effort when she desires to expel skilfully and 
economically the air contained in the lungs, the 
corset will hasten the expiration, forcing the singer 
to breathe often, and preventing her from making 
use of the whole extent of her voice. Again the 
pressure j3roduced on the abdomen prevents the 
movement of the organs contained in that cavity, 
and hence the respiration carried on by the move- 
ments of the diaj)hragm is to a great extent inter- 
fered with. In this we find an explanation of the 



132 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

greater movement of the upper portion of the chest 
in women than in men. 

While deprecating tight lacing, I am far from 
considering the corset, as many have done, as the 
cause of consumption, deformities, palpitations, 
and almost all the diseases women are subject to. 
Beauty is only relative, and requires culture; it 
should not be abandoned to nature alone ; all 
women are not Venuses without effort or care. 
For young girls largely developed, the corset may 
be used to moderate the exuberance of form, and 
for those who are weak, it becomes a support ; but 
for the one as well as the other, the corset would 
be injurious if its construction prevented the dila- 
tation of the chest and interfered with respiration. 

Dr. Groddard, in his "Essay on Tight-Lacing," 
says : 

" 1st. Corsets should be made of smooth, soft, 
elastic material ; 2d, they should be accurately 
fitted and modified to suit the peculiarities of fig- 
ure of each wearer ; 3d, no other stiffening should 
be used but that of quilting or padding ; the bones, 
steel, etc., should be left to the deformed or dis- 
eased, for whom they were originally intended; 
4th, corsets should never be drawn so tight as to 
impede regular, natural breathing, as, under all 
circumstances, the improvement of figure is insuffi- 
cient to compensate for the air of awkward re- 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 133 

straint caused by such, lacing; 5th, they should 
never be worn either loosely or tightly during the 
hours appropriated to sleep, as, by impeding respi- 
ration and accumulating the heat of the system 
improperly, they invariably injure ; 6th, the cor- 
sets for young persons should be of the simplest 
character, and worn in the lightest and easiest 
manner, allowing the lungs full play, and giving 
the form its full opportunity for expansion." 

The same remarks concerning tightly fitting 
clothing apply equally well to men. They should 
not wear either tight shirt-collars or cravats, for 
the voice is seriously interfered with by compress- 
ing the larynx, and even rupture of the cephalic or 
thoracic vessels, resulting in sudden death, may 
be the penalty paid by the imprudent singer or 
speaker, who, fearing to disarrange his toilet, has 
neglected to take a precaution which is always 
useful and often indispensable, especially to ple- 
thoric individuals. Therefore do not forget to 
have the neck perfectly free, for, besides the dan- 
ger and the uneasiness produced in that region, it 
causes a preoccupation of the mind always injuri- 
ous to both sentiment and execution. 

Those who devote themselves to singing should 
conform less to the tyrannical power of certain 
fashions. No matter what the season is, women 
expose their bare neck and arms to the action of 



134 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

cold or damp air, or may even be seen shivering 
in garments so light that they scarcely suffice for 
the demands of modesty. Thus dressed and often 
wet with perspiration they pass suddenly from a 
warm apartment to an icy atmosphere, and by so 
doing expose themselves to fall victims to one of 
the many and troublesome diseases to which a sud- 
den cooling of the surface of the body may give 
rise, such as Phthisis, Bronchitis, Digestive disor- 
ders, etc. Fortunate indeed are they if they pay 
the penalty of their imprudence with a cold or loss 
of voice, but too often death or a life rendered 
miserable by pain and sickness follows this neg- 
lect. Who is there who has not been compelled 
to watch some young friend descend slowly to the 
grave, with the emaciated body, the frightful 
spasms which every evening threaten suffocation, 
the hectic fever, the copious night-sweats, and 
putrid expectoration, the too sure signs of that fell 
destroyer, consumption \ 

The singer, on account of the susceptibility of 
his lungs to the influence of cold which the fre- 
quent use of his voice develops, must not spare 
any means of preserving those organs from the 
abrupt variations of temperature. He can in a 
great measure protect himself by the use of flan- 
nel, which not only keeps his body warm, but ren- 
ders the lungs and bronchial tubes less sensitive 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 135 

to cold by keeping up a slight irritation of the 
skin. 

There is a popular idea that red flannel is of 
greater benefit, and gives greater warmth than 
white. This is an error, and as it is oftentimes 
productive of harm, it is well to have this error 
corrected. White flannel is not only cleaner, but 
retains heat better ; this fact was noticed by the 
ancient physicians, and has been demonstrated by 
the modern ones. 

It is well known that the fur of certain animals 
living in very high latitudes becomes snow-white 
in the winter; they thus retain more of the heat 
generated within their bodies, and are enabled to 
withstand the intense cold of the regions they in- 
habit. 

If pieces of differently colored cloth or metal are 
placed on the surface of snow or ice, it will be 
found that the darker colored pieces sink the 
deeper, showing that they are the better absorb- 
ents. Now, as good absorbers are good radiators, 
and conversely the worst absorbers are the worst 
radiators, we can easily understand why light or 
white clothing loosely woven is the best to retain 
the animal heat. 

Popular prejudice is in favor of a red color in 
under-garments. This belief would cease to exist 
if people knew that the seeming benefit derived 



136 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

from that color is only too often owing to the irri- 
tating properties of the dye, which is in many cases 
poisonous. 

Many of the dyes used to-day, certainly the 
more brilliant ones, are aniline colors ; coralline, 
one of them, has long been known to be a very 
poisonous substance.* 

There are but few physicians in practice who 
have not been called on to treat affections which 
were produced by this dye. Indeed, the evils 
brought on by this poisonous dye-stuff became 
so numerous that some years ago the French gov- 
ernment prohibited its use in wearing apparel. 

Experiments conducted with a view to deter- 
mine the effect on the body of different materials 
of which the ordinary articles of clothing are made 
up, have shown that those made of wool are the 
warmest. They not only retain the heat of the 
body, but the perspiration which is constantly 
poured out by the body immediately passes through 
the texture of the fabric, and thus enables the 
skin to fulfil its function perfectly. An individ- 
ual, young, and in the enjoyment of vigorous 
health, may dispense with the use of flannels with- 
out subjecting himself to danger or even inconve- 
nience from the frequent changes of temperature of 

* Coralline is a derivative of rosolic acid : this of carbolic acid. 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 137 

our climate, provided he takes moderate care of 
himself. But, later iu life, and even in youth, if 
the constitution be not good, or if from a feeble 
state of health but little heat is developed, or if 
sedentary occupations are followed, woollen under- 
garments become almost absolute necessities. 

A proper attention to the hygiene of the skin 
exerts a most favorable influence upon the voice. 
Frequent bathing, by removing from the cuta- 
neous surface the impurities which are constantly 
being deposited upon it by the jDerspiration, aids 
the voice greatly. Greek and Roman writers men- 
tion that the voices of their singers and orators 
were more pure and sonorous after leaving the 
bath, which had rested their organs and restored 
their energies. 

Previous to singing, what does the singer do ? 
His main object is to effect the complete lubrica- 
tion of the buccal and pharyngeal mucous surfaces. 
This he accomplishes by means of the salivary 
secretion, a part of which he distributes with his 
tongue over portions of those membranes, while he 
swallows the remainder to aid the follicular secre- 
tions in moistening the throat. 

A great many people strive to attain the same 
result by the use of lozenges or troches. Espe- 
cially is this seen in the green-room, the choir, the 
hall of justice, and the pulpit. Fortunate indeed 



138 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

is it for those who indulge in these so-called medi- 
cations, that the greater number of them are per- 
fectly inert. A few, however, are powerfully nar- 
cotic and soon become very enticing, nay, almost 
indispensable. Others again are so powerfully 
astringent that they rather increase than diminish 
the inflammation which they are intended to allay, 
and are but too often the originators of dyspepsia. 

I speak knowingly of these things, since I have 
tried them all. As a singer, I found the best worse 
than useless ; as a medical man, I find most of 
them positively injurious. 

The troches most in vogue contain cubebs as a 
base. While cubebs, in its therapeutic effects, 
promotes the secretion of mucous surfaces, it pre- 
sents great disadvantages in destroying the tone 
of the mucous membrane of the stomach, thus in- 
terfering with gastric digestion, and thereby in- 
ducing dyspeptic symptoms, such as acidity of the 
stomach, loss of appetite, water-brash, etc. Where 
the singer or speaker is concerned, we have in 
view to facilitate expectoration, and allay inflam- 
mation, relieve hoarseness and soothe bronchial 
irritation, the natural results of too prolonged 
exertion of the vocal organs. 

To accomplish these results, I have for several 
years been accustomed to use and often have pre- 
scribed, with very good results, a preparation of 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 139 

pimpinella saxifraga, pulinonaria, erysimum, and 
bromide of ammonium, held in gum acacia. 

The dry throat and parched tongue which al- 
most invariably accompany that trying moment 
of suspense when the speaker or singer is standing, 
awaiting his introduction to the public, may be 
easily obviated by stimulating the salivary secre- 
tions by the simple expedient of chewing a morsel 
of paper, or by holding a pebble or button in the 
mouth. 

There is a point of considerable importance, the 
consideration of which is very often neglected ; 
namely, that the size of the room should be 
limited and that it sustain a harmonic relation to 
the energy of the pulmonary and vocal organs. If 
the room is so large that the singer or speaker is 
compelled to exert himself greatly in order to fill 
it, the sounds will lose their natural tone ; his 
lungs, strained by being so forcibly dilated, will 
tire; his larynx and bronchi become irritated or 
even inflamed ; and his tongue and throat, no 
longer sufficiently lubricated by saliva, become 
I rigid. He is happy indeed who early perceives 
the ill effects he is producing, and by a timely 
avoidance of the cause protects himself from con- 
sequences still more dangerous. 

Emotion may act upon the organism in such a 
manner as to render the singer or speaker unable 



140 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

to produce the slightest sound ; or he may be 
unable to produce distinctly the one desired, or the 
sound may be diminished in intensity or pitch ; or, 
by its action upon the salivary glands, the mouth, 
tongue, larynx, etc., may become dry, and the voice 
lose both in sonorousness and range. 

It would be strange if artists who are constantly 
exposed to the influence of emotion did not endea- 
vor, by some means or other, to overcome that in- 
fluence. Each one has some remedy for his trou- 
ble ; one eats a hearty meal, another drinks coffee, 
another liquor, another takes opium, and each be- 
lieves that without his stimulant he would be un- 
able to overcome the effects of the influence of 
emotion. An eloquent divine of this city is said 
to take some eight to ten cups of tea before going 
to his Sunday services. 

Dr. Mandl mentions some of the curious habits 
indulged in by different artists in order to refresh 
or strengthen themselves in their moments of rest 
during the exercise of the voice. 

The Swedish tenor Labatt eats two salted cu- 
cumbers, and claims that this vegetable, thus pre- 
pared, is excellent to strengthen the voice. 

Sontheim contents himself with a snuff of to- 
bacco and a glass of fresh lemonade. 

Wachtel swallows the yolk of an egg beaten up 
with sugar. 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 141 

Steger drinks the dark juice of Grambrinus. 

Walter takes black coffee ; Nieman, cham- 
pagne. 

Tichatcheck warm Bordeaux, seasoned with cin- 
namon, sugar, and lemon. 

Ferenczy, the tenor, smokes one or two cigars — 
a habit which his comrades regard as injurious. 

Mile. Braun-Brine drinks, after the first act, a 
glass of beer ; after the third and fourth, a cup of 
coffee with milk ; and when she has to sing in the 
great duo of the fourth act of the Huguenots, a 
bottle of Moet-rose. 

Nauchbaur nibbles sweetmeats during the per- 
formance. 

The baritone Rubsam drinks kydromel. 

Nitterwurzer and Kinderman suck prunes. 
Another baritone, Robinson, drinks seltzer water. 
Carl Formes drinks porter. 

The celebrated baritone Beck takes nothing and 
abstains from speaking. 

Draxler smokes Turkish tobacco and drinks 
beer. 

Another singer, Schmidt, according to circum- 
stances, takes coffee or tea ; a quarter of an hour 
later lemonade or hydromel. In the intervals he 
snuffs tobacco and eats apples, prunes, or a piece 
of dry bread. 

Mme. Sontag, between the acts, sardines ; Mile. 



142 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

Desparre, warm water ; Mme. Cruvelli, claret 
mixed with champagne ; Mme. Adelina Patti, selt- 
zer water ; Mme. Nilsson, beer ; Mme. Cabel, pears ; 
Mme. Ulgade, prunes, and Mme. Trebelli, straw- 
berries ; Troy, milk ; Mario smokes ; Mme. Bor- 
ghi-Mamo snuffs ; Mme* Doras-Gras ate, in the 
wings, cold meat, and Mme. Malibran was in the 
habit of eating her supper in her private box half 
an hour before the performance. 

In the chapter on alimentation we showed the 
evil effect of a full stomach upon the voice. Let 
us now consider the effect of stimulants, and see 
whether there is -any necessity for their use in 
order to counteract the effects of emotion. 

Coffee has been the subject of the most lavish 
praise and the most unjust blame. Certain it is, 
that if it does not accomplish all the good claimed 
for it, it at least does not produce all the evil 
effects which are so complacently attributed to it. 
One of its evil effects, however, we cannot overlook, 
namely, that it deadens the sensation of hunger. 
There are but very few great coffee- drinkers who 
are great eaters. When a person, not a habitual 
drinker of coffee, takes some before a meal, he is 
unable to eat the average amount of food which 
he is accustomed to do ; while, if he takes it after 
a meal, a much longer interval than usual will 
elapse before he is again hungry. Again, the 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 143 

energy of the berry is in a measure destroyed by 
the quantity of milk ordinarily employed, and for 
this reason it often happens that the only effect of 
coffee is to slightly stimulate the digestive organs. 

The power of coffee to excite the cerebral func- 
tions has been very much extolled. That it does 
so, there can be no doubt; but the man whom 
habit has compelled to resort to this stimulant is 
to be pitied. We can readily understand why a 
person advanced in years may resort to it, but 
think that any one who is still young and of vigor- 
ous constitution, would do well to abstain from 
the habitual use of coffee as a stimulant, for it in- 
creases the force of the circulation, diminishes the 
appetite, and finally becomes an imperious want, 
the privation of which produces indigestions and 
almost intolerable headaches. 

Coffee does not affect all individuals uniformly. 
On some its influence is soothing, while others are 
rendered so nervous and excitable by it, that they 
dare not continue its use. It is evident, then, that 
individual peculiarities must be consulted before 
its use is decided upon. 

But of all stimulants those which afPect man 
most are liquors, the product of alcoholic fermem 
tations, since they may be infinitely useful or terri- 
bly injurious, accordingly as their use is reasona- 
ble or abusive. Their action in great measure de- 



144 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

pends upon the amount of alcohol contained in 
them, the quantity and kind of gas, and the amount 
of sugar, extractive or coloring matter, etc., which 
enter into their composition. 

Their influence upon the liver is fatal ; they in- 
crease the amount of the biliary secretion, and tend 
to produce dangerous coagulations. They also 
generally increase the secretion of the gastric fluids, 
and facilitate the coagulation of the mucosities ex- 
isting in the stomach. But it is principally upon 
the nervous system that their influence is most 
manifest. Taken immoderately, their tendency is 
to pervert the salivary secretions, to destroy the 
sensitiveness and suppleness of the mucous mem- 
brane lining the respiratory organs, and thus give 
a feebleness and often a disagreeable hoarseness to 
the voice. 

The best way to overcome the influence of sud- 
den emotions, is to cultivate the habit of breathing 
easily, tranquilly, and by small inspirations. In 
this way the respiratory muscles and the lungs, 
being accustomed to a certain rhythm of move- 
ment, keep it notwithstanding any nervous shock 
which the system may sustain ; even the accelera- 
tion of the circulation which is an ordinary effect 
of emotion, soon finds in a methodical inspiration 
an obstacle to which it must yield. Regulated by 
the breathing, function after function returns to 



^PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 145 

** " 

its naturaPcondition ; the lieart ceases to palpitate, 
the brain becomes clear and the voice docile ; 
while, on the contrary, if any disorder of the breath- 
ing be added to the effect produced by emotion 
upon the cerebral system, it becomes impossible to 
control the action of the voluntary muscles. 

Besides the precautions we have mentioned, the 
singer must remember that many things which may 
seem to him trifles, if persevered in will finally 
affect the voice. Thus, by habit, the voice may be 
modified or even changed. Sailors, smiths, and 
others who are engaged in noisy occupations, exert 
their voices more strongly than those having quiet 
pursuits, and thus change the intonation of the 
voice. 

The attitude also affects the voice. When the in- 
dividual stands erect the movements of both the re- 
spiratory and the vocal aj>paratus are most free and 
effective ; the larynx, by the erect position of the 
head, is carried forward ; the arytenoid cartilages 
are also so j)laced that a slight tension of the vocal 
cords is produced, so that everything in this posi- 
tion conduces to the formation of clear and harmo- 
nious sounds. 

We have already spoken of the compression of 
the neck. Let, therefore, the dress of singers be 
loose, so that too great a flow of blood to these 
parts shall not be produced. 
7 



146 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

The singer, on account of the great amount of 
labor which his lungs are called upon to perform, 
might with benefit to himself abstain from all vio- 
lent exercise, such as running fast, loud reading, 
etc. He should remember that the lungs already 
perform almost all the work which they are capa- 
ble of doing, and not endanger his voice, if not his 
life, by taxing them unnecessarily. 

The intensity of the sounds produced by the 
vocal apparatus depends on the force with which 
the air is expelled from the chest, and the amount 
of vibration impressed on the larynx. It is only 
necessary that the respiratory and vocal organs 
should be placed in a perfectly normal condition, 
and that the chest should be of sufficient capacity, 
in order that the voice may be strong and pos- 
sessed of ail the natural qualities belonging to pho- 
nation. 

If it is true that the slightest alteration in the 
health of an individual instantly modifies the in- 
tensity of his voice, it is also true that his physi- 
cal strength contributes but very little to the for- 
mation of sound. 

As, in order to learn to play on any musical in- 
strument, continued practice is necessary ; so, in 
order to use the vocal instrument correctly, a proper 
exercise of the lungs is indispensable, since the 
singer must be able not only to provide an ample 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE, 147 

supply of air, but must also be able to utilize it to 
the greatest possible degree. From the fact that 
iu singing the respiration is more ample than it is 
in speaking, three consequences result : 

1st. By well-directed, systematic exercises in 
singing, the lungs acquire the power to retain a 
greater quantity of air for longer periods of time. 

2d. The increased vigor and activity of the res- 
piration, little by little, augments the capacity of 
the lungs, renders them less liable to disease, and 
proportionally develops the thoracic cavity. 

3d. Since the passage of the blood through the 
lungs from and to the heart is now rendered easier, 
the circulation becomes stronger and more regular. 

The power and elasticity of the lungs may be 
developed to a wonderful degree by a very simple 
exercise. This consists of four jDarts, which should 
be successively and perseveringly practised ; they 
are : 

1st. To inspire as slowly as possible until the 
lungs are filled as completely as they can be. 

2d. To expire the air so introduced with the 
same, or even a greater degree of slowness. 

3d. To fill the lungs with air, and retain them 
so filled during as' long a time as possible. 

4th. To empty the lungs as completely as possi- 
ble, and retain them in that condition as long as 
the strength will permit. 



148 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

These exercises, which will be found very fatigu- 
ing at first, should be executed separately, allow- 
ing quite an interval to elapse between any two 
of them, so that the lungs may not be taxed too 
greatly. The first two, viz., the slow inspiration 
and expiration, can be executed with greater ease 
and regularity if the mouth be almost closed, so 
that a very small opening only is made for the 
passage of air. 

The objection sometimes urged against this 
method of breathing, as being antagonistic to the 
natural method through the nose, is soon shown 
by experience to be without foundation : after a 
few deep artificial inspirations and expirations 
through the mouth, the breathing through the nose 
becomes fuller and more perfect. 

Before closing this chapter, let us return again to 
what we have said of singing as a hygienic means. 

From the manner in which the singer is com- 
pelled to breathe, the lungs are often filled com- 
pletely with air, and thus the lungs increase in 
volume ; the trachea and the osseous walls of the 
chest also partake of this development; the voice 
gains in volume and strength ; the circulation be- 
comes more active and the functions of the various 
organs of the body are thus better performed than 
before. Provided, then, that we violate none of 
the laws which are necessary to our well-being, a 



PRESERVATION OF THE VOICE. 149 

moderate use of the vocal organs tends to maintain 
the general health, or even sometimes to promote 
it. Very frequently it has happened that a narrow 
chest has acquired a happy development through 
the judicious and continued exercise of the vocal 
organs. 

But the singer must bear in mind that singing 
has its disadvantages as well as its advantages. 
He should never forget that if the singing be kept 
up for too long a time, or be repeated at very short 
intervals, the continued movements to which it 
gives rise may act injuriously, not only upon the 
larynx, but also upon the organs contained in the 
thoracic and abdominal cavities. The list of diffi- 
culties which may be brought on by an immoder- 
ate exercise of the vocal organs is long. First in 
the order of frequency, we must notice hoarseness 
and dryness of the throat, due to the exhaustion 
of saliva ; a sensation of prickling in the larynx ; 
a more or less diminution in the range of the 
voice, or sometimes a change in its timbre, caused 
by a lesion of the larynx; laryngeal phthisis, or 
throat co?isumption 1 & deposit of tubercles in its 
coverings ; oedema of the glottis, or serous infiltra- 
tion of those parts of the larynx especially con- 
cerned in the formation of the voice ; finally, con- 
sumption itself may be the effect of the great labor 
entailed upon the lungs. 



150 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

Sometimes the production of very high notes re- 
quires considerable efforts, which cause the blood 
to ascend too violently to the face ; congestion and 
cerebral hemorrhage have at times followed. The 
lungs, during the acts of singing or declamation, 
are unable to properly aerate the blood, on account 
of the constant action they are called upon to per- 
form. It results from this that the blood is no 
longer oxygenated, and therefore tends to accumu- 
late in the nearest blood-vessels, fills beyond meas- 
ure the cavities of the heart, and predisposes to 
aneurismal dilatations. 

These results of excessive use of the vocal or- 
gans show how careful and moderate an exercise 
should be allowed to people subject to hemorrhages 
from the organs of the chest or inflammation of 
the organs contained therein, while singing should 
be entirely forbidden to those suffering from con- 
sumption or heart-disease, lest it aggravate their 
trouble. 

Our last hygienic measure, and a very import- 
ant one, is that the moment the singer is troubled 
with a short, dry cough, a profuse expectoration, a 
gradual loss of flesh, or spitting of blood, it be- 
hooves him to cease singing, in order that by giv- 
ing his overtasked organs rest, he may allow them 
an oppportunity of recovering their strength, and 
he, himself, his health, 



CHAPTEE XII. 

DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 
SORE THROAT 

Under the generic name of sore throat are 
classed affections of the pharynx, the tonsils, the 
uvula, the soft palate, and the larynx. 

It would be out of place in these pages to treat 
of that form of sore throat characterized by exuda- 
tion ; — croup, true or false, diphtheria, — or of the 
specific sore throat, whether tuberculous, cancer- 
ous, or syphilitic. Still more so would it be to 
discuss the exanthematous. 

CATARRH. 

A. Cold in the head. — One of the most common 
complaints of our climate is a " cold." 

Exposure to cold air, to dampness, and to 
draughts are among the* principal causes of this 
affection. A sudden lowering of the temperature 
■ — a few degrees only — by cooling the skin of the 
feet, chest, or neck, the mucous membranes of the 
nose or of throat, is sufficient to produce this trouble, 



152 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

commonly designated as the effect of " checking 
the perspiration." 

The symptoms of a cold are well known. Fol- 
lowing the lowering of the temperature of the 
body — sometimes so slight or so gradual that we 
are unable to say when or where it occurred — 
there comes a feeling of lassitude ; we are dull, 
heavy; there is a sensation of fatigue, perhaps of 
stiffness like that which follows physical over- 
exertion; a disposition to shiver, and a slight 
headache. Thus matters remain for two or three 
days ; there is no cough as yet ; the secretion 
from the nose has become abundant and trouble- 
some, and sneezing now follows ; the eyes are very 
sensitive to light, and filled with tears, and there 
is a feeling of stupidity. Later on, the inflamma- 
tion may pass downwards to the chest, and then 
we have a decided cold. 

The duration of a cold usually varies from five 
to eight days ; it may, however, last fifteen to 
twenty, or even become chronic, and until the pitu- 
itary membrane returns to something like its nor- 
mal state the sufferer tries to content himself with 
slops. 

There are, however, many ways of shortening 
the duration of a cold. 

When the attack is not very severe, it usually 
suffices to inhale the fumes of strong tincture of 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 153 

iodine, or snuff jDOwclered camphor, or to inject 
into the nostrils a weak solution of opium, at the 
same time taking a hot foot-bath to which some 
salt or mustard has been added. Emollient drinks 
are also useful, and at bedtime a sudorific in the 
shape of a hot punch or a Dover powder (ten 
grains), or the latter combined with sulphate of 
quinine, to tone up the system. The stiffness or 
soreness of the back may be relieved by a large 
sinapism between the shoulders. 

The persons most liable to suffer from colds are 
those who are naturally of weak constitution, or 
whose circulation is so languid that their feet and 
hands are almost constantly cold. In some this 
condition is so marked that one attack of cold seems 
only to prepare the way for a more severe one. 

As one of the chief, if not the chief cause of 
colds is a lowering of the general temperature of 
the body through the action of cold upon the 
skin, much may be accomplished by proper atten- 
tion to the skin, so as to render it less susceptible 
to such influence. Confinement in hot rooms or an 
excess of clothing does more harm than good. 
Exercise in the open air, covering the throat only 
when absolutely necessary, and the free use of the 
cold shower-bath, are among the best preventives. 

Of course delicate persons cannot at once use 

the cold shower ; it is too severe for them, and 
7* 



154 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

would do more harm than good ; but they can be- 
gin by sponging the body with tepid water, grad- 
ually accustoming themselves to the use of colder 
and colder spongings, until they can use the 
shower with pleasure and profit. 

Wearing flannel next the skin, avoiding heated 
rooms and sudden transitions from heat to cold, 
cannot be too strongly insisted on. 

B. Chronic catarrh or coryza is a persistent 
inflammation of the nasal fossae, often due to, and 
following a cold in the head, which has not been 
completely cured. Sometimes it is developed de 
novo ; in that case it is the result of the continued 
action of the same causes which produce the acute 
form, such as exposure to cold, wind, or rain : at 
other times it is owing to the presence of irritating 
substances, such as tobacco-smoke, or various va- 
pors in the atmosphere habitually breathed. 

The chief symptom of chronic coryza is snuf- 
fling. The nose seems to be full, and there is a 
vain attempt to clear from it the obstructing sub- 
stance, which not only interferes with respiration, 
but with the sense of smell also, and alters the 
tone of the voice, rendering it more or less nasal. 
There is no special pain or uneasiness attending it, 
except the sensation of weight and fullness in the 
nose. The secretion of the nasal mucous mem- 
brane is always altered, though in different ways. 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 155 

Sometimes it is abundant, thick, yellow or green- 
ish, resembling pus; at other times it is less in 
amount, and consists of hard, dry masses, firmly 
adhering to the nasal walls. In such cases it re- 
mains there for some time, undergoes decomposi- 
tion, thus giving rise to quite an offensive odor. 
This is the variety which gives occasion to the dis- 
agreeable hawking and spitting. Or, the secretion 
may be thin, salty, and extremely irritating ; spread- 
ing over the wings of the nose and upon the upper 
lip, it chafes and inflames them. Lastly, the 
secretion may be a clear, transparent, bland fluid, 
but so abundant that the nose becomes for the 
time being a small fountain. To this form the 
name rhinorrhoea has been given. 

Whatever may be the form of the discharge, 
chronic coryza is always a most obstinate and in- 
tractable disease, requiring vigorous and continued 
treatment for its complete cure. 

C. Ozcena is a disease of the nasal cavity, known 
mostly from the offensive nature of the discharge. 
It is an affection equally painful to the one at- 
tacked and to those who are obliged to remain in 
his vicinity. It is an ulceration of the nasal 
mucous membrane, or caries of the bones forming 
or supporting the framework of the nose. The 
caries or ulcerations in the nasal fossae form deep 
and irregular excavations, containing pus and 



156 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

broken-down tissue, which, decomposing, gives rise 
to the horribly fetid odor. It is almost invariably 
dependent on scrofula or syphilis. 

In addition to the characteristic odor, the suf- 
ferer from ozsena usually presents the symptoms 
of chronic coryza ; he snuffles, has a disagreeable 
nasal tone of voice, and his sense of smell is 
blunted, sometimes entirely lost. One other symp- 
tom, which, taken in connection with the odor, 
serves to characterize this disease, is the destruc- 
tion of the nasal bones, and the resulting defor- 
mity. Sometimes the two nostrils communicate by 
an opening through their septum or partition ; at 
other times the roof of the mouth is pierced, so 
that nose and mouth communicate directly, while 
again the bones forming the framework or support 
of the softer tissues, and which give form to the 
nose, may be attacked so that the nose is depressed, 
turned to one side, or even completely flattened. 

Once established, ozsena never undergoes a spon- 
taneous cure, but is now better, now worse, de- 
pending on the partial healing — specially during 
summer months — of old, or the development of 
new spots of ulceration. The necessity for care- 
ful, persistent, and vigorous treatment is easily 
understood. 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 157 



INFLAMED SORE THROAT. 

As we have seen in the preceding pages, a very 
slight cause may determine a sore throat. Passing 
from a well heated ball-room or theatre to the ex- 
terior air without taking the precaution to cover 
the body sufficiently ; getting the feet wet or 
chilled ; remaining for a few minutes in a damp 
room ; forgetting the use of a purge long indulged 
in ; the suppression of menstrual or hemorrhoidal 
discharges, or of perspiration, especially of the 
feet ; the fatigue produced by reading, singing, or 
declaiming; the use of iced drinks, of irritating 
food, such as pepper, cloves, dry fruit, nuts, al- 
monds, etc. ; indulging in strong liquors, or finally 
an hereditary disposition — are all predisposing or 
determining causes of inflammatory sore throat. 

If the mucous membrane of the throat is irri- 
tated or inflamed, it becomes swollen, thickened, 
and congested. The calibre of the vocal pipe is 
diminished, and hoarseness results. The dryness 
of the throat is soon succeeded by a more or less 
abundant secretion from the mucous membrane, 
expectoration follows, and ceases only when the 
inflammation subsides. Sometimes the inflamed 
state extends to the neighboring parts, and all the 
mucous membranes, bronchial, laryngeal, nasal, 
that of the tonsils and velum palati, may be in- 



158 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

volved. When this occurs, the grave nature of 
the affection imperatively demands an immediate 
and energetic antiphlogistic treatment. 

But generally the inflammation is restricted to 
the uvula and the tonsils. When the latter are in- 
volved, they may become greatly enlarged so as to 
interfere with or even render deglutition almost 
impracticable. The accurate articulation of words 
becomes impossible, and even respiration is carried 
on with great difficulty, so that often the patient 
for the moment is unable to inspire at all. If the 
uvula is involved, liquids are more difficult to 
swallow than solids, and the grievous state of the 
sufferer is rendered still more so by the continued 
efforts to swallow provoked by the uvula tickling 
the base of the tongue. 

The uvula, commonly called the palate, is sus- 
pended in the central portion of the veil or arch of 
the palate forming an integral part of it. Its 
functions are : (1) to aid in the straightening of 
the veil of the palate ; the fleshy fibres of which 
it is mostly made up allowing it to contract com- 
pletely upon itself, and so to carry the veil of the 
palate upward. It also aids in drawing the pillars 
closer to each other in the median line. (2) At 
the anterior and superior portions of the uvula is 
a gland the duct of which is sometimes visible, and 
whose office is to keep moist the bucco-pharnygeal 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 159 

region. (3) The uvula closes completely the pos- 
terior opening of the buccal cavity.* 

When inflammation sets in, the engorged portion 
is no longer under the control of the azygos mus- 
cle — a small muscle forming the substance of the 
uvula ; and relaxation and lengthening of the 
uvula take place, and a portion remains hanging 
down between the pillars. Besides the disagree- 
able sensation occasioned by the irritation j3ro- 
duced by the point of the uvula touching the base 
of the tongue, and which causes a continual desire 
to swallow, it interferes in a great measure with 
the production and modification of sounds. It 
may even, by the continued irritation produced, be 
the exciting cause of chronic sore throat or of 
laryngeal phthisis. 

The constant tremolo we hear in some voices, 
and which some singers with bad taste endeavor 
to cultivate, should rather be called tremor than 
tremolo, resembling as it does the voice of the 

* Professor Alfred H. Garrod, F.R.S., in a recent lecture, laid great 
stress upon the functions of the uvula, an organ present only in man 
and the anthropoid apes, and expressed his opinion that the uvula 
serves the purpose of preventing the food from entering the back part 
of the nose, if it should so happen that during the act of swallowing, 
the individual should make a sudden effort at expiratory breathing. 
The uvula, being pressed back by the moving food against the posterior 
wall of the pharynx, would so retain a free communication between the 
mouth and the pharynx, at the same time that the narea are closed by 
the soft palate. — St. Louis Ec. Med. Jour. 



160 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

agecl. In many cases I have traced this trembling 
to a relaxation and prolongation of the uvula ; the 
organ remaining hanging loosely is shaken by the 
air during the emission of the sound. The tremor 
always entirely disappeared when the parts were 
restored to their normal condition. 

The tonsils, two small ovoid bodies, are situated 
at the origin of both the respiratory and digestive 
tubes. They secrete a semi-transparent liquid, 
whose function is to lubricate the mucous mem- 
brane lining the pharyngeal region, so as to render 
it softer, and facilitate the movements of the parts 
during singing, speech, or deglutition. Though 
they do not in any way contribute to the produc- 
tion of sound, yet if we consider that the passage 
of air during inspiration tends to dry the vocal 
organs, their importance will be readily admitted. 
But they may be too voluminous, and in that case 
they will exercise a bad influence upon the quality 
of sound, or they may even interfere with its for- 
mation. Their enlargement gives rise to a partic- 
ular tone of voice, in the formation of which both 
the guttural and nasal timbres concur. Besides 
this, they impede deglutition, the respiration be- 
comes noisy and laborious, especially during sleep, 
and pressing against the opening of the Eustachian 
tube, which is behind them, consequently oppose 
the renewal of air in the internal ear, and thus 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 161 

produce what is termed throat deafness ; a very 
grave thing for the singer, who needs so much to 
hear himself and others. 

Amongst the most marked effects of enlarged 
tonsils may be noted the derangement of health, 
and in young persons the arrest of development. 
Dr. Yearsley, who has observed the fact in numer- 
ous instances, says that it is probably to be ac- 
counted for : 

1. By the enlargements exerting more or less 
pressure on the carotid artery, thus imposing an 
obstacle to the ready now of blood to the brain, 
by which the nervous energy of the body is dimin- 
ished and corporeal development is retarded. Any 
impediment to the due transmission of blood to 
the brain must exercise a prejudicial effect upon 
the nervous system. 

2. By the food in its passage to the stomach be- 
coming imbued with the foul secretions poured out 
from these diseased glands ; for, if the food does 
not reach the stomach in a state of purity, that 
organ becomes disordered, and the general health 
suffers. From the lacunae of enlarged tonsils issue 
foul secretions, which taint the food in its passage 
down the throat to the stomach : the body there- 
fore must be deprived of its due supply of pure 
and wholesome nourishment. 

3. By the air which the patient breathes becom- 



162 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

ing tainted on its passage to the lungs, and thus 
producing an effect identical with that of living in 
an impure atmosphere. The air which the sufferer 
from enlarged tonsils takes into the lungs in the 
act of breathing, is vitiated by having to pass over 
a diseased condition of the throat ; consequently it 
is tantamount to the patient living in an unwhole- 
some atmosphere, or an unhealthy and unsuitable 
climate. 

On the tonsils themselves the enlargements re- 
act in a very injurious manner. The large size 
and low organization of the glands renders them 
very liable to repeated attacks of acute or sub- 
acute inflammation. Patients with enlarged ton- 
sils are often so susceptible, that inflammation of 
those glands follows the slightest exposure, and 
comes on with the mildest catarrh. These fre- 
quent attacks of quinsy not only cause much suf- 
fering and augment the size of the tonsils, but 
when the already hypertrophied glands become 
still further enlarged by inflammation, there is 
often risk of suffocation. It may be well to bear 
in mind, also, that the danger of scarlatina, diph- 
theria, croup, and laryngismus stridulus, is, of 
course, greatly increased by any pharyngeal im- 
pediment to respiration. The extremely disagree- 
able intonation of voice caused by enlarged tonsils 
sometimes makes an effort to lessen the defect 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 163 

very desirable. The voice is sometimes nasal in 
its tone, sometimes merely thick or muffled, more 
rarely guttural. This peculiarly unpleasant modi- 
fication in the voice is often so serious a drawback 
to young people, as to make them very anxious to 
overcome it. Snoring is another objectionable 
peculiarity, sometimes caused by enlarged tonsils. 
— (Morell Mackenzie, 1864, page 4.) 

" We can readily understand how a chronic en- 
largement of the tonsils, by interfering with the 
normal respiration, can lead to consumption. Only 
a portion of the requisite amount of air can be re- 
spired, and the development of the chest is thus 
interfered with. Indeed, we may even say that 
the capacity of the chest diminishes as the tonsils 
enlarge. Dupuytren was the first to notice that 
children whose tonsils were enlarged ended by 
having a deformed chest. In them the thorax was 
rounded behind, retracted in front, and flattened 
at the sides." * 

The aid of the physician or surgeon being often 
called in to remedy the injurious influence these 
organs,«small as they are, exert when diseased, not 
only upon the voice, but, as we have seen, upon 
the general health, I must express here my views 
concerning a method which, unfortunately, not- 

* The Author's Prize Essay on Consumption, 1870. 



164 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE, 

withstanding its unsatisfactory, nay, its positively 
evil results, is yet too much practised. I allude 
to the excision or removal of the tonsils or uvula 
by the knife. 

This practice has strong advocates, I am aware, 
but I have the lessons of experience and the sup- 
port of good authorities. 

•" The experience of the most successful practi- 
tioners and my own, has convinced me that the 
partial or complete excision of the tonsils may 
cause an hemorrhage which it is sometimes diffi- 
cult to remedy ; fits of coughing, fainting, spasms, 
suffocation, are the accidents which accompany 
it. . . . As for the excision of the uvula, it is 
not without its difficulties ; we know that it can- 
not be seized without trouble, and without occa- 
sioning more or less intense pain. Finally, the ex- 
tirpation of the tonsils, and the cutting-off of the 
uvula, so ofteD practised upon singers and dra- 
matic artists, is never crowned with satisfactory 
results. In the most satisfactory cases, the part 
attacked by the scalpel becomes so very irritable 
that the least change in temperature, a forced 
declamation, and especially sustained singing or 
speaking, are sufficient to produce an angina 
which I have often seen extend to the pleura and 
lungs." — (Bennati, Etudes sur la Voix Humaine, 
p. 180.) 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 165 

There is a case mentioned by Portal, in which a 
skilful surgeon, in scarifying the tonsils of his 
patient, wounded, as he supposed, some ramifica- 
tion of the internal carotid, and the patient was 
presently dead. — (Science and Art of Surgery, by 
John E. Erichsen, page 880.) 

Columbat, although doubting the statement of 
Wedel, that " the loss of the uvula causes the food 
and liquors to ascend the posterior orifices of the 
nasal fossae," admits that the operation may induce 
the nasal mucus to fall more readily in the 
throat, and also that the emission of acute notes 
may be rendered more difficult by the excision, 
which he condemns unless all other means have 
failed, or when the extraordinary tumefaction of 
the tonsils may endanger the patient's life. (Mal- 
adies des Organes Vocaux, page 134.) 

" It is, indeed, the fashion with many to snip off 
the tonsils and uvulas, with a view of curing a 
cough, which really is kept up by a source of irri- 
tation existing in the lungs." — (Da Costa, Med. 
Diagnosis.) 

Harvey states that the removal of the tonsils in- 
terferes with the development of the genital organs. 

An eminent physician, Dr. Ed. Fournie', says 
that " that operation (excision of the uvula), small 
as it is, may affect the general health." — (Etudes 
Pratiques sur le Laryngoscope, page 54.) 



166 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

Finally, we may sum up the above authorities, 
and say with Dr. Morell Mackenzie, of London, 
that the obstacles to the surgical extirpation of 
the tonsils are: (1) its dangers; (2) its difficul- 
ties ; (3) the objections to it entertained by many 
jDatients. 

There are, it is true, certain anatomic conditions 
which may necessitate the use of the scalpel. 
Tumefied or much ulcerated tonsils may require 
excision ; but when simply enlarged they may be 
brought back to their normal size by a few appli- 
cations of either the Vienna paste or the bichro- 
mate of potassa. It needs a little more time to 
reach the result, but it is much more certain and 
complete. 

CLERGYMAN'S SORE THROAT. 

From its name we might be led to regard this 
disease as peculiar to the class whose name it 
bears ; it is, however, by no means confined to the 
clergy, if I may judge from the large number of 
those of other professions who have sought my ad- 
vice. 

The symptoms of this trouble are : uneasy sen- 
sation in the upper part of the throat ; a continued 
inclination to swallow, as if there were some ob- 
stacle in the oesophagus which could be removed 
by deglutition. The sufferer also makes frequent 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 167 

attempts to clear the throat of phlegm by cough- 
ing, hawking, and spitting.- Usually there is a 
change in the tone and quality of the voice ; cer- 
tain notes especially being altered, with more or 
less hoarseness towards evening. 

This is sometimes entirely a nervous affection. 
Among its other and more common causes may be 
mentioned a natural weakness of the vocal organs ; 
indigestion; exposure to cold after using the 
voice ; an improper position of the head or chest, 
as in bending over a desk or reading-table ; in fact, 
anything that interferes with the full play of the 
lungs. 

I append here the forcible remarks of Dr. Fen- 
wick, which illustrate fully my meaning : 

" Clergyman's sore throat is due entirely to a 
neglect of observation of the mechanism of speak- 
ing. If the perfectly erect position of the spine is 
of so much importance for easy breathing, can it 
excite surprise that so many cases of throat disease 
present themselves among public speakers, when 
the habit of stooping is so prevalent, both on the 
platform and in the pulpit. 

Nothing is more common than to see a clergy- 
man bending forward over his sermon, with his 
chest contracted, and his throat bent ; or to ob- 
serve an orator, at a public meeting, with his hand 



168 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

concealed in waistcoat pocket, and the motions of 
his chest consequently limited." 

To the causes already given may be added sing- 
ing or speaking while suffering from a cold. The 
exertion causes an increase of the inflammation 
already existing ; 23erversion of the secretion of 
the glands lubricating the vocal cords ; then fol- 
lows thickening of the tissues, and permanent mis- 
chief ensues. But too often has the attempt to 
" work off " a slight hoarseness succeeded in ruin- 
ing forever a fine voice. 

We all know that a certain preparation or train- 
ing is absolutely necessary for the accomplishment 
of any feat requiring the continued use of any one 
set of muscles, and that absolute rest following 
such training lessens very rapidly the power of the 
trained muscles. The very brain itself, if not reg- 
ularly worked, loses power. Now this is exactly 
the condition of the clergy. Many of them ex- 
haust the whole physical frame by the exertion of 
the vocal organs on the Sabbath day, and allow 
them absolute rest for the succeeding six. Is it 
any wonce.' that the overtaxed organs finally re- 
pay in kind the abuse they have suffered ? 

Continued speaking in one tone of voice is also 
a cause of this trouble. The muscles are far more 
strained and fatigued than if there were an alter- 
ation in the pitch of the voice. " Whenever," says 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 169 

Fenwick, " we liear a clergyman droning through 
the church service, and, in the same manner and 
tone of voice, reading, praying, and exhorting, we 
may be perfectly sure that he is giving ten times 
more labor to his vocal cords than is absolutely 
necessary." 

We have thus seen how many causes may pro- 
duce this peculiar sore throat, and therefore the 
management of each case must depend on the opin- 
ion the physician forms of it. In its earlier stages, 
if it is of nervous origin, tonics, especially iron 
and quinine, cold shower-baths or sea-bathing, and, 
if possible, temporary change of scene and occupa- 
tion, are the remedies. If due to the habit of 
stooping, correct this by the constant assumption 
of an erect position. As moderate exercise, grad- 
ually increased, is as beneficial to the voice as to 
the limbs, the clergyman should read aloud once 
or twice daily, using the same pitch and volume 
of voice as liis professional duties demand. 

If, however, the disease is far advanced, and the 
throat and fauces present an unhealthy, slightly 
raw and granular appearance, with not only in- 
crease in the quantity of the secretions, but change 
in their character, so that they have become an 
acrid, viscid discharge, firmly adherent to the 
membrane, and a source of irritation, medical ad- 
vice should be sought at once. 



170 HYGIENE OE THE VOICE. 



LARYNGITIS. 



Acute laryngitis or acute inflammation of the 
mucous membrane of the larynx, is a malady of 
frequent occurrence, caused usually by cold, damp- 
ness, and the harsh atmospheric variations of 
changing seasons. Laryngitis is sometimes pro- 
duced by violent or protracted efforts of the voice 
in speaking or singing. 

When the trouble is but slight, it is restricted 
to a simple .hoarseness. The voice has not its 
usual purity and strength, and any attempt to 
clear the throat by coughing is unavailing. After 
a few days, sometimes a few hours, the hoarseness 
disappears without the aid of medicines. 

In pronounced inflammation of the larynx, the 
voice presents marked alterations. It is hoarse, 
rough, broken, and utters sounds alternately harsh 
and screeching ; speech is difficult and painful, 
especially when it becomes necessary to speak 
loudly. Without being accompanied by fever, it, 
howe ver, induces a feeling of prostration, ' dimin- 
ishes the appetite somewhat, and requires a certain 
amount of nursing. 

Of intense laryngitis giving rise to suffocating 
symptoms, or of tracheitis (inflammation of the 
wind-pipe), this is not the proper place to speak. . 






DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 171 



BRONCHITIS. 

Inflammation affecting the mucous membrane 
of the bronchial tnbes is called bronchitis. Of all 
diseases of the throat it is, perhaps, the most com- 
mon. 

"When the body is exposed to the cold of a low 
and even temperature, it reacts with force, produc- 
ing heat enough to maintain its normal condition. 
In such a case no cold can be taken, for a cold is not 
the effect of exposure to cold air, but from " cool- 
ing off." Habitual exposure to cold air, when not 
followed by a cooling-off, is not injurious to the 
health, but beneficial, for it increases the strength. 

Bronchitis is due to the combined effects of the 
cold air inhaled, and its action also externally, 
under peculiar circumstances : as in the fall and 
spring, when the variations of tenxperature are 
sudden ; and in foggy and damp weather. Damp- 
ness itself is a consequence of a variation in the 
temperature. A hot and dry air becomes damp as 
soon as it cools ; for, however dry it may appear 
to be, it contains, nevertheless, a certain quantity 
of vapor of water, which the least cold condenses 
into a fog. The high winds of the fall and spring 
are also active causes of cold, because the air re- 
spired is renewed . too frequently, thus producing 
a cooling-off of the bronchial tubes. 



172 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE, 

Winter bronchitis arises from the fact that our 
habitations are kej)t so very warm that we cool-ofE 
or chill the moment that we leave the house. The 
same cause explains the numerous colds caught 
on leaving ball-rooms, theatres or churches, namely, 
the passing suddenly from a very high temperature 
to a very low one. " But,' 1 some one may say, " I 
take cold also in summer." Yes, but if you look 
back you will recall that, being much heated, you 
either stood or sat still in the shade, took a cold 
bath, or drank freely of ice-water. 

Among the causes of bronchitis we may men- 
tion the putting on the summer clothing too soon, 
or delaying too long to assume the winter dress, 
or remaining too long inactive when the clothing 
was wet with rain or perspiration. 

The principal symptom of bronchitis is cough. 
First dry, then after twelve or twenty-four hours 
expectoration begins, of stringy and salty serosity. 
This soon gives place to small, shining, and gray- 
ish spit, somewhat hard to bring up. Then the 
cough becomes easier and less frequent. It is 
loose, the expectoration changes its character and 
becomes large, thick, opaque, whitish, greenish, or 
yellowish ; the cough ceases and the cold is better. 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 173 



Nervous or essential asthma is dependent upon 
a weakness of the bronchial tubes, during the ex- 
istence of which state even slight causes produce 
paralysis. 

In some cases this condition is constitutional, or 
even hereditary, while, in other cases, it follows as 
the sequela of some disease, such as scarlatina, 
whooping-cough, pneumonia, or typhoid fever, in 
which the lung has been affected ; or it may be 
caused by a strong moral emotion, by fright, by 
anger, or by deep sorrow, which has acted strongly 
upon the nervous system, and lessened the amount 
of nervous force distributed to the contractile fibres 
of the lung. 

In this weakened condition of the bronchial 
tubes the most trivial causes are sufficient to pro- 
duce an attack of asthma. Among these causes 
the first is sleep, especially if it is deep, as it usu- 
ally is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. This singular 
fact is easily explained when we remember that 
sleep is -only an incomplete j)aralysis of the intel- 
lect, and in a less degree of the heart and lungs — 
for we always find the rate of respiration and the 
force of the heart's action lessened. If, then, the 
sleep be prolonged, the paralysis it determines may 



174 HYGIENE OE THE VOICE. 

extend to the muscular fibres of the bronchi, and 
produce asthma. 

Many asthmatics suffer whenever they sleep in 
darkness, or when during their slumber certain 
noises, such as the rolling of carriages, the ticking 
of a clock, the murmuring of a stream, etc., to 
which they have been accustomed, are absent. The 
probable explanation is that if light and noise pre- 
vent asthma, they do so by rendering the sleep 
less profound, and thus the lung is affected less 
deeply. 

At other times the fit of asthma is brought on 
by breathing an atmosphere either too dry or too 
moist, too cold or too warm, too dense or too rare- 
fied, too calm or too agitated. Some sufferers are so 
sensitive to atmospheric changes that they indicate 
these changes more quickly and more surely than 
a barometer, and, like the birds, announce the com- 
ing rain and storm. 

A curious fact is the effect which certain pow- 
ders or odors have in determining an immediate 
attack of asthma, while other substances, which 
would seem far more likely to be harmful, have not 
the slightest effect. 

Among other causes provoking an attack of 
asthma, we may mention : errors of diet, the abuse 
of alcoholic liquors, and violent exercises. 

Nervous asthma may be described as a fit of suf- 



DISEASES OF THE VOICE. 175 

focation coming on suddenly while apparently in 
perfect health, and disappearing as suddenly with- 
out leaving any traces behind. Often the attack 
occurs without warning, in the middle of the night, 
the sufferer having retired full of gayety and 
health. At other times the premonitory symp- 
toms are well marked. For a few hours, or even 
for a day, the asthmatic feels dull and tired ; he 
yawns and stretches himself ; the stomach and ab- 
domen are distended by gas, and painful upon 
pressure ; the urine is abundant and clear as water. 
Whether it is announced or not, the attack usually 
comes on during the night, when the patient is en- 
joying his deepest sleep. Suddenly, without ap- 
parent cause, the asthmatic awakes to find him- 
self struggling for breath. He sits up in bed, or 
more often hastens to the window, throws it open, 
and eagerly breathes the external air, even in the 
midst of winter. This sometimes cuts short the 
attack, and after a few minutes he returns to bed 
to pass a comfortable night. But oftener the at- 
tack continues, and the difficulty of breathing, far 
from diminishing, steadily increases, and the harsh, 
rapid, and broken respiration is accompanied by a 
whistling which is heard at some distance. Seated 
on his bed or astride a chair, or holding fast to the 
window-sill, with nares and mouth wide open, and 
head thrown back, the sick one vainly exerts all 



176 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

his muscular power to dilate the chest and force 
air into the lungs through the nearly impermeable 
bronchial tubes; in vain, for the air apparently 
stops in the throat and cannot pass lower. Use- 
less the endeavors of the asthmatic to free his 
chest by coughing ; the cough remains dry, and, in- 
stead of diminishing, the suffocation increases it; 
the asphyxia makes progress after each paroxysm ; 
the sufferer feels that air is refused him, that he 
will die, and the fear of suffocation increases his 
agony still more. 

After such an attack has lasted several hours, 
it begins to abate, usually with the dawn of day. 
The respiration is longer and easier, the speech 
less brief and broken, the cough less harassing 
and more moist, the mucus which had obstructed 
the bronchial tubes is detached, and then follows 
great relief. 

The sputa varies much in aspect and consistency : 
sometimes it is a colorless, viscous liquid, similar 
to gum-water; at others, it is thick and opaque, 
and of a grayish, yellowish, or greenish color. In 
a small number of cases the expectorated matters 
have a firmer consistency, are of cylindrical shape, 
similar to cooked vermicelli, and reproduce exactly 
the form of the bronchial tubes in which they were 
moulded. 

As soon as the bronchi are freed from the mu- 



DISEASES * OF THE VOICE. 177 

cus which filled them, the oppression, the cough, 
and the feeling of suffocation disappear as if by 
magic. The asthmatic feels tired by the violent 
efforts he has made, his chest and sides are sore, 
and he craves one thing — rest. He returns to bed, 
sleeps peacefully, and on awaking feels nothing 
of his attack but a slight soreness, and is free for 
some time from his malady. 

Unfortunately, however, all attacks do not end 
so soon ; sometimes the feeling of oppression con- 
tinues, in the evening the abdomen swells, and 
there is a repetition of the attack, as bad or worse 
than the preceding one. This may be followed by 
a third or even a fourth. It may disappear for a 
while, but usually remains to reproduce itself dur- 
ing the whole life, unless remedied by proper med- 
ical care. 



APPENDIX 



APPENDIX. 



Gargling is commonly resorted to in most of 
the affections of the throat, yet most people have 
but little conception of its rationale or method of 
use. 

Gargling may be accomplished in one of three 
ways : 

1st. The most common and least effective is 
performed by the following disposition of the 
parts : the base of the tongue having been raised, 
the muscles of the soft palate are then relaxed in 
order that the latter may come in contact with the 
base of the tongue, while the uvula is laid point 
forward in the groove formed in the surface of the 
tongue. Thus all communication between the 
cavities of the mouth and pharynx is cut off, and 
expiration takes place through the nose. If the 
parts are arranged as above directed, breathing 
through the mouth can only be accomplished by 
the exertion of sufficient effort to overcome the 
resistance offered by the contact of the mucous 



182 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

membranes, and this effort, on account of the posi- 
tion of the uvula, is greater in inspiration than in 
expiration. In expiration the soft palate is lifted 
by the current of air, in inspiration there is a ten- 
dency to force it into still closer contact with the 
tongue. The passage of the expired air causes a 
fluttering motion of the uvula, and the guttural 
r-r-r-r is produced. This form of gargling, then, 
only brings the fluid in contact with the walls of 
the buccal cavity. In this method : 

1st. The head is thrown backward to retain the 
fluid. 

2d. The fluid does not go beyond the buccal 
cavity, or, if it does, is instantly swallowed. 

3d. Swallowing is unavoidable, and is caused by 
the opening of the glottis to give passage to the 
air breathed through the nose. 

4th. Breathing continues during the gargling, 
being carried on through the nasal cavity. 

The second method of gargling is accomplished 
by throwing the head far backward, in order to 
dilate the pharynx. The fluid readily finds its 
way in the pharyngeal cavity, but the position of 
the head gives rise to incessant and irresistible at- 
tempts at swallowing, which, while they prevent 
the fluid from penetrating the larynx, cause, in 
spite of all efforts, part of it to enter the stomach. 

The third method is a combination of the pre- 



APPENDIX. 183 

ceding ones, and by it a fluid may readily be in- 
troduced into the mouth, pharynx, the sub-glottic 
portion of the larynx, and even the nasal cavity, 
without a drop being swallowed. For its accom- 
plishment the following rules must be observed : 

1st. Raise the head slightly. 

2d. Open the mouth moderately. 

3d. Bring the lower jaw forward by raising the 
chin. 

4th. Place the vocal pipe in the position to 
emit, or rather actually produce the sound of e in 
in the word Tier. 

5th. Breathe easily and regularly. 

If the different motions given above be per- 
fectly carried out, the pharynx will be widely 
dilated, the soft palate and uvula will be raised, 
and the base of the tongue drawn forwards 
from the posterior wall of the pharynx, and thus 
the fluid will be carried by its own weight alone 
into the cavity of the larynx. In practising the 
laryngeal gargling, the following must be strictly 
observed in breathing : as long as the fluid re- 
mains in the larynx the breath must be held, al- 
lowing only a slow, well-regulated expiration, in 
order to avoid the necessity of a sudden and invol- 
untary inspiration ; any attempt at ins juration 
while the gargle is contained in the larynx would 
carry the fluid with the air through the half-open 



184 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

glottis, and there would follow the convulsive 
coughing and sensation of strangling, which is ex- 
jjerienced when something "has gone the wrong 
way." Each mouthful of gargle should only be 
retained the space of time required by a prolonged 
expiration, and previous to taking a mouthful the 
lungs should be well filled with air. 

This method of gargling can be acquired readily 
by very little practice ; the less the head is raised, 
the less will be the inclination to swallow, and 
thus the desire to do so can be overcome entirely ; 
while if the head be thrown far back, the inclina- 
tion to swallow will be irresistible. 

With practice one can force the fluid through 
the nostrils, just as a smoker forces the smoke of a 
cigarette, thus bathing in the most perfect manner 
the diseased surface of the entire mucous mem- 
brane. 



PRESCRIPTIONS. 



Any of the following prescriptions copied out and sent to 
a chemist would be made up without difficulty. 

1. — Cold in the Head. 

Hoffman's anodyne six drachms. 

Paregoric five " 

Tincture of tolu five " 

Mix. 

Put one teaspoonful into a pint of boiling water. Cover 
the head and basin with a towel or cloth, and inhale for from 
three to five minutes. 

2. — Coryza. 

Opium one and a half grains. 

Pure water half an ounce. 

Mix. 

To be snuffed up. 

3.— Wash for Sore Mouth. 

Borax half an ounce. 

Tincture of myrrh one ounce. 

Pure water ten ounces. 

Mix. 



186 HYGIENE OE THE VOICE. 

4. — Stimulating Liniment in Common Sore Throat. 
Soap liniment, 

Opodeldoc of each half an ounce. 

Tincture of arnica one drachm. 

Mix. 

"Wet a piece of flannel with the liniment and apply to the 
throat. 

5. — Astringent Gargle in Relaxation of the Throat and 

Uvula. 

Alum three drachms to half an ounce. 

Barley water ten ounces. 

Syrup of poppies or honey one ounce. 

Mix. 

6. — In the Same. 

Tannin one drachm. 

Honey three ounces. 

Pure water four ounces. 

Mix. 

7. — In the Same. 

Glycerine of tannic acid ten drachms. 

Water to half a pint. 

Mix. 

To be used three or four times a day. 

8. — Gargle in Chronic Inflammation of the Throat and 
Clergyman's Sore Throat. 

Carbolic acid twenty minims. 

Compound spirits of lavender half an ounce. 

Tincture of myrrh half an ounce. 

Syrup of tolu one ounce. 

Pure water six ounces. 

Mix. 



PRESCRIPTIONS. 187 

9. — Opiate Gargle. 

Laudanum three drachms. 

Tincture of belladonna two ounces. 

Camphor mixture six ounces. 

Mix. 

Use frequently. 

10. — Tonic Gargle 

Alum two drachms. 

Claret wine six ounces. 

Decoction of Peruvian bark six ounces. 

Honey one ounce. 

Mix. 

11. — Tonic Gargle in Relaxation. 

Tincture of myrrh one ounce. 

Alum one drachm. 

Pure water seven ounces. 

Mix. 



12. — Gargle in Chronic Hoarseness of Growing Boys. 

Tincture of red pepper one drachm. 

Decoction of Peruvian bark six ounces. 

Mix. 

13. — Cayenne Pepper Gargle. 

Tincture of capsicum one hundred minims. 

Dilute acetic acid fifty minims. 

Water to half a pint. 

Mix. 

To be used two or three times a day. 



188 HYGIENE OF THE VOICE. 

14. — Cough. 

Paregoric one ounce. 

Tincture of belladonna one ounce. 

Tincture of hyoscyamus. two drachms. 

Compound spirits of lavender one drachm. 

Mix. 

Ten drops on a lump of sugar every hour until the cough 
is relieved. 

lb.— Cough Mixture. 

Bromide of potassium, 

Chloride of ammonium, 

Chlorate of potash . . of each one and a half drachms. 

Syrup of squills, 

Syrup of tolu of each two ounces. 

Mix well. 

One teaspoonful every third hour. 

16. — In Chronic Bronchitis with Excessive Secretion. 

Spirits of turpentine one ounce. 

Warm water four ounces. 

Mix and inhale the vapor. 



BIBLIOGRAPHIC LIST OF WORKS REFERRED TO. 



Beaumont (William). The Physiology of Digestion. Phila., 1847. 
Beauquier (Charles). Philosophie de la musique. Paris, 1866. 
Bennati. Mecanisme de la voix humaine pendant le chant. Paris, 

1832. 
Brouc. Hygiene philosophique des artistes dramatiques. Paris, 1836. 
Colombat (de l'lsere). Traite des maladies de la voix. 1838. 
Cuvier. Lecons d'anatomie comparee. V. 4. Paris, 1805. 
D ALTON (J. C.) Human Physiology. Phila. , 1872. 
Debay (A.) Hygiene et gymnastiqiie des organes de la voix. 1861. 
Desplney (Felix). Recherches sur la voix. These, Paris, 1821. 
Draper (John W. ) Human Physiology. New York, 1858. 
Dutrochet. Essai sur une nouvelle theorie de la voix. These, Paris, 

1806. 
Fourni£ (Ed.) Physiologie de la voix et de la parole. Paris, 1866. 
Harvey (William). On Enlarged Tonsils in Deafness. London, 1864. 
Longet (F. A.) Traite de physiologie. Paris, 1860. 
Malgaigne. Memoires sur la voix. Archiv. gen. demedecine. 1831. 
Mandl (L.) Maladies du larynx et du pharynx. Paris, 1872. 
Mackenzie (Morell). The Use of the Laryngoscope in Diseases of 

the Throat. 1864. 
Muller. Manuel de physiologie. 1851. 

Rush (James). The Philosophy of the Human Voice. Phila., 1867. 
Segond (L. A.) Hygiene du chanteur. Paris, 1846. 
Stephen de la Madeleine. Theories completes du chant. Paris, 

1864. 
Yearsley (James). On Throat Deafness. London, 1864. 



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